COLLEGE    OF    OSTEOPATHIC    PHYSICIANS 
AND  SURGEONS  •    LOS  ANGELES,  CALIFORNIA 


STAMMERING 
ITS  CAUSE  AND  CURE 


BENJAMIN  N.  BOGUE 


STAMMERING 

ITS  CAUSE  AND  CURE 


BY 

BENJAMIN  NATHANIEL  BOGUE 

A  Chronic  Stammerer  for  Almost  Twenty 
Years;  Originator  of  the  Bogue  Unit  Method 
of  Eestoring  Perfect  Speech;  Founder  of  the 
Bogue  Institute  for  Stammerers  and  Editor  of 
the  "Emancipator,"  a  magazine  devoted  to  the 
Interests  of  Perfect  Speech 


INDIANAPOLIS 
BENJAMIN   NATHANIEL   BOGTJJU 


Printed  in  the  United  States  of  America 


Copyright  1919  by  Benjamin  Nathaniel  Bogue 
Copyright  1920  by  Benjamin  Nathaniel  Bogue 
Copyright  1922  by  Benjamin  Nathaniel  Bogue 

First  Printing,  November,  1919 

Second  Printing,  October,  1920 

Third  Printing,  September,  1922 

Fourth  Printing,  September,  1924 

Fifth  Printing,  March,  1926 

Sixth  Printing,  April,  1927 

Seventh  Printing,  September,  1929 


HAMMOND     PRESS 

W.   A     CONKCY  COMPANY 

CHICAGO 


TO  MY  MOTHER 

That  wonderful  woman  whose  unflag- 
ging courage  held  me  to  a  task  that  I 
never  could  have  completed  alone  and 
who  when  all  others  failed,  stood  by  me, 
encouraged  me  and  pointed  out  the 
heights  where  lay  success — this  volume 
is  dedicated 


CONTENTS 


Preface 11 

PAET  I— MY  LIFE  AS  A  STAMMEEBE 

I  Starting  Life  Under  a  Handicap 15 

II  My  First  Attempt  to  Be  Cured 19 

m        My  Search  Continues 27 

IV  A  Stammerer  Hunts  a  Job 36 

V  Further  Futile  Attempts  to  Be  Cured 40 

VI  I  Eefnse  to  Be  Discouraged 48 

VH  The  Benefit  of  Many  Failures 51 

VIII  Beginning  Where  Others  Had  Left  Off     ....     57 

PAET  II— STAMMEEING  AND  STUTTEEING 

The  Causes,  Peculiarities,  Tendencies 
and  Effects 

I  Speech  Disorders  Defined 62 

II  The  Causes  of  Stuttering  and  Stammering     ...  72 

III  The  Peculiarities   of   Stuttering   and    Stammering     .  90 

IV  The  Intermittent  Tendency 97 

V  The  Progressive  Tendency 102 

VI  Can  Stammering  and  Stuttering  Be  Outgrown?     .     .  108 

VH  The  Effect  on  the  Mind 113 

Vin  The  Effect  on  the  Body 117 

IX  Defective  Speech  in  Children 

(1)  The  Pre-Speaking  Period 120 

X  Defective  Speech  in  Children 

(2)  The  Formative  Period 128 


21955 


10  STAMMERING 

21        Defective  Speech  in  Children 

(3)     The    Speech-Setting    Period 136 

YTT      The   Speech    Disorders    of    Youth 144 

Alii    Where    Does    Stammering    Lead? 151 

PAET  m— THE  CUBE  OF  STAMMEEING 
AND  STUTTEEING 

I  Can    Stammering   Eeally   Be    Cured! 160 

H .       Cases  That  "Cure  Themselves" 164 

m       Cases   That   Cannot   Be   Cured 167 

IV  Can  Stammering  Be  Cured  by  Mail? 177 

V  The  Importance  of  Expert  Diagnosis 181 

VI  The  Secret  of  Curing  Stuttering  and  Stammering     .  186 

VIE      The  Bogue  Unit  Method  Described 190 

Vm    Some  Cases  I  Have  Met 208 

PART  IV— SETTING  THE  TONGUE  FEEE 

I  The  Joy  of  Perfect  Speech 230 

11  How  to  Determine  Whether  You  Can  Be  Cured     .     .  233 
in       The  Bogue  Guarantee  and  What  It  Means     ....  236 

IV  The  Cure  Is  Permanent 239 

V  A  Priceless  Gift — An  Everlasting  Investment     .      .     .  243 

VI  The   Home  of  Perfect  Speech 246 

Vn      My  Mother  and  The  Home  Life  at  the  Institute     .     .  255 

V3H    A  Heart-to-Heart  Talk  with  Parents 264 

IX        The   Dangers   of   Delay 269 


PREFACE 


CONSIDERABLY  more  than  a  third  of 
a  century  has  elapsed  since  I  purchased  my 
first  book  on  stammering.  I  still  have  that  quaint 
little  book  made  up  in  its  typically  English  style 
with  small  pages,  small  type  and  yellow  paper 
back — the  work  of  an  English  author  whose  ob- 
tuse and  half-baked  theories  certainly  lent  no 
clarity  to  the  stammerer's  understanding  of  his 
trouble.  Since  that  first  purchase  my  library  of 
books  on  stammering  has  grown  until  it  is  per- 
haps the  largest  individual  collection  in  the 
world.  I  have  read  these  books — many  of  them 
several  times,  pondered  over  the  obscurities  in 
some,  smiled  at  the  absurdities  in  others  and 
benefited  by  the  truths  in  a  few.  Yet,  with  all 
their  profound  explanations  of  theories  and  their 
verbose  defense  of  hopelessly  unscientific  meth- 
ods, the  stammerer  would  be  disappointed  in- 
deed, should  he  attempt  to  find  in  the  entire 
collection  a  practical  and  understandable  discus- 
sion of  his  trouble. 

This  insufficiency  of  existing  books  on  stam- 


12  STAMMERING 

mering  has  encouraged  me  to  bring  out  the  pres- 
ent volume.  It  is  needed.  I  know  this — because 
I  spent  almost  twenty  years  of  my  life  in  a  well- 
nigh  futile  search  for  the  very  knowledge  herein 
revealed.  I  haunted  the  libraries,  was  a  familiar 
figure  in  book  stores  and  a  frequent  visitor  to  the 
second-hand  dealer.  Yet  these  efforts  brought 
me  comparatively  little — not  one-tenth  the  infor- 
mation that  this  book  contains. 

Perhaps  it  is  but  a  colossal  conceit  that 
prompts  me  to  offer  this  volume  to  those  who 
stutter  and  stammer  as  I  did.  Yet,  I  cannot  but 
believe  that  almost  twenty  years'  personal  expe- 
rience as  a  stammerer  plus  more  than  twenty- 
eight  years'  experience  in  curing  speech  disorders 
has  supplied  me  with  an  intensely  practical,  val- 
uable and  worth-while  knowledge  on  which  to 
base  this  book. 

After  having  stammered  for  twenty  years  you 
have  pretty  well  run  the  whole  gamut  of  mockery, 
humiliation  and  failure.  You  understand  the 
stammerer's  feelings,  his  mental  processes  and 
his  peculiarities. 

And  when  you  add  to  this  more  than  a  quarter 


ITS   CAUSE   AND   CUBE  13 

of  a  century,  every  waking  hour  of  which  has 
been  spent  in  alleviating  the  stammerer's  diffi- 
culty— and  successfully,  too — you  have  a  ground- 
work of  first-hand  information  that  tends  toward 
facts  instead  of  fiction  and  toward  practice 
instead  of  theory. 

These  are  my  qualifications. 

I  have  spent  a  life-time  in  studying  stammer- 
ing, stuttering  and  kindred  speech  defects.  I 
have  written  this  book  out  of  the  fullness  of  that 
experience — I  might  almost  say  out  of  my  daily 
work.  I  have  made  no  attempt  at  literary  style 
or  rhetorical  excellence  and  while  the  work  may 
be  homely  in  expression  the  information  it  con- 
tains is  definite  and  positive — and  what  is  more 
important — it  is  authoritative. 

I  hope  the  reader  will  find  the  book  useful — 
yes,  and  helpful.  I  hope  he  will  find  in  it  the 
way  to  Freedom  of  Speech — his  birthright  and 
the  birthright  of  every  man. 

BENJAMIN  NATHANIEL  BOGUE 

Indianapolis 
September,  1929 


STAMMERING 

Its  Cause  and  Cure 


CHAPTER  I 

STARTING  LIFE  UNDER  A  HANDICAP 

1WAS  laughed  at  for  nearly  twenty  years 
because  I  stammered.  I  found  school  a  bur- 
den, college  a  practical  impossibility  and  life  a 
misery  because  of  my  affliction. 

I  was  born  in  Wabash  county,  Indiana,  and  as 
far  back  as  I  can  remember,  there  was  never  a 
time  when  I  did  not  stammer  or  stutter.  So  far 
as  I  know,  the  halting  utterance  came  with  the 
first  word  I  spoke  and  for  almost  twenty  years 
this  difficulty  continued  to  dog  me  relentlessly. 

When  six  years  of  age,  I  went  to  the  little 
school  house  down  the  road,  little  realizing  what 
I  was  to  go  through  with  there  before  I  left. 


16  STAMMEEING 

Previous  to  the  time  I  entered  school,  those 
around  me  were  my  family,  my  relatives  and  my 
friends — people  who  were  very  kind  and  con- 
siderate, who  never  spoke  of  my  difficulty  in  my 
presence,  and  certainly  never  laughed  at  me. 

At  school,  it  was  quite  another  matter.  It  was 
fun  for  the  other  boys  to  hear  me  speak  and  it 
was  common  pastime  with  them  to  get  me  to  talk 
whenever  possible.  They  would  jibe  and  jeer — 
and  then  ask,  "What  did  you  say?  Why  don't 
you  learn  to  talk  English?"  Their  best  enter- 
tainment was  to  tease  and  mock  me  until  I  be- 
came angry,  taunt  me  when  I  did,  and  ridicule 
me  at  every  turn. 

It  was  not  only  in  the  school  yard  and  going 
to  and  from  school  that  I  suffered — but  also  in 
class.  When  I  got  up  to  recite,  what  a  spectacle 
I  made,  hesitating  over  every  other  word,  stum- 
bling along,  gasping  for  breath,  waiting  while 
speech  returned  to  me.  And  how  they  laughed 
at  me — for  then  I  was  helpless  to  defend  my- 
self. True,  my  teachers  tried  to  be  kind  to  me, 
but  that  did  not  make  me  talk  normally  like  other 
children,  nor  did  it  always  prevent  the  others 
from  laughing  at  me. 

The  reader  can  imagine  my  state  of  mind  dur- 


ITS   CAUSE  AND   CURE  17 

ing  these  school  days.  I  fairly  hated  even  to 
start  to  school  in  the  morning — not  because  I  dis- 
liked to  go  to  school,  but  because  I  was  sure  to 
meet  some  of  my  taunting  comrades,  sure  to  be 
humiliated  and  laughed  at  because  I  stammered. 
And  having  reached  the  school  room  I  had  to  face 
the  prospect  of  failing  every  time  I  stood  up  on 
my  feet  and  tried  to  recite. 

There  were  four  things  I  looked  forward  to 
with  positive  dread — the  trip  to  school,  the  recita- 
tions in  class,  recess  in  the  school  yard  and  the 
trip  home  again.  It  makes  me  shudder  even  now 
to  think  of  those  days — the  dread  with  which  I 
left  that  home  of  mine  every  school  day  morn- 
ing, the  nervous  strain,  the  torment  and  torture, 
and  the  constant  fear  of  failure  which  never  left 
me.  Imagine  my  thoughts  as  I  left  parents  and 
friends  to  face  the  ribald  laughter  of  those  who 
did  not  understand.  I  asked  myself:  "Well, 
what  new  disgrace  today?  Whom  will  I  meet 
this  morning?  What  will  the  teacher  say  when 
I  stumble?  How  shall  I  get  through  recess? 
What  is  the  easiest  way  home? 

These  and  a  hundred  other  questions,  born  of 
nervousness  and  fear,  I  asked  myself  morning 
after  morning.  And  day  after  day,  as  the  hours 


18  STAMMERING 

dragged  by,  I  would  wonder,  "Will  this  day 
never  end?  Will  I  never  get  out  of  this?" 

Such  was  my  life  in  school.  And  such  is  the 
daily  life  of  thousands  of  boys  and  hundreds  of 
girls — a  life  of  dread,  of  constant  fear,  of  endless 
worry  and  unceasing  nervousness. 

But,  as  I  look  back  at  the  boys  and  girls  who 
helped  to  make  life  miserable  for  me  in  school, 
I  feel  for  them  only  kindness.  I  bear  no  malice. 
They  did  no  more  than  their  fathers  and  mothers, 
many  of  them,  would  have  done.  They  little 
realized  what  they  were  doing.  They  had  no 
intention  to  do  me  personal  injury,  though  there 
is  no  question  in  my  mind  but  that  they  made  my 
trouble  worse.  They  did  not  know  how  terribly 
they  were  punishing  me.  They  saw  in  my  afflic- 
tion only  fun,  while  I  saw  in  it — only  misery. 


CHAPTER  II 

MY  FIEST  ATTEMPT  TO  BE  CUBED 

1CAN  remember  very  clearly  the  positive  fear 
which  always  accompanied  a  visit  to  our 
friends  or  neighbors,  or  the  advent  of  visitors  at 
my  home.  Many  a  time  I  did  not  have  what  I 
desired  to  eat  because  I  was  afraid  to  ask  for  it. 
When  I  did  ask,  every  eye  was  turned  on  me, 
and  the  looks  of  the  strangers,  with  now  and 
then  a  half -suppressed  smile,  worked  me  up  to  a 
nervous  state  that  was  almost  hysterical,  causing 
me  to  stutter  worse  than  at  any  other  time. 

At  one  time — I  do  not  remember  what  the 
occasion  was — a  number  of  people  had  come  to 
visit  us.  A  large  table  had  been  set  and  loaded 
with  good  things.  We  sat  down,  the  many  dishes 
were  passed  around  the  table,  as  was  the  custom 
at  our  home,  and  I  said  not  a  word.  But  before 
long  the  first  helping  was  gone — a  hungry  boy 
soon  cleans  his  plate — and  I  was  about  to  ask  for 
more  when  I  bethought  myself.  "Please  pass — " 
I  could  never  do  it — "p"  was  one  of  the  hard 
sounds  for  me.  "Please  pass — "  No,  I  couldn't 


20  STAMMERING 

do  it.  So  busying  myself  with  the  things  that 
were  near  at  hand  and  helping  myself  to  those 
things  which  came  my  way,  I  made  out  the  meal 
— hut  I  got  up  from  the  table  hungry  and  with 
a  deeper  consciousness  of  the  awfulness  of  my 
affliction.  Slowly  it  began  to  dawn  on  me  that 
as  long  as  I  stammered  I  was  doomed  to  do  with- 
out much  of  the  world's  goods.  I  began  to  see 
that  although  I  might  for  a  time  sit  at  the 
World's  Table  of  Good  Things  in  Life  I  could 
hope  to  have  little  save  that  which  someone 
passed  on  to  me  gratuitously. 

As  long  as  I  was  at  home  with  my  parents, 
life  went  along  fairly  well.  They  understood  my 
difficulty,  they  sympathized  with  me,  and  they 
looked  at  my  trouble  in  the  same  light  as  myself 
— as  an  affliction  much  to  be  regretted.  At  home 
I  was  not  required  to  do  anything  which  would 
embarrass  me  or  cause  me  to  become  highly 
excited  because  of  my  straining  to  talk,  but  on 
the  other  hand  I  was  permitted  to  do  things 
which  I  could  do  well,  without  talking  to  any 
one. 

The  time  was  coming,  however,  when  it  would 
be  "Sink  or  Swim"  for  me,  since  it  would  not  be 


ITS   CAUSE   AND   CUBE  21 

many  years  until  a  sense  of  duty,  if  nothing  else, 
would  send  me  out  to  make  my  own  way.  This 
time  comes  to  all  boys.  It  was  soon  to  be  my 
task  to  face  the  world — to  make  a  living  for 
myself.  And  this  was  a  thing  which,  strangely 
enough  for  a  boy  of  my  age,  I  began  to  think 
about.  I  had  some  experience  in  meeting  people 
and  in  trying  to  transact  some  of  the  minor  busi- 
ness connected  with  our  farm  and  I  found  out 
that  I  had  no  chance  along  that  line  as  long  as 
I  stammered. 

And  yet  it  seemed  as  if  I  was  to  be  compelled 
to  continue  to  stammer  the  rest  of  my  life,  for 
my  condition  was  getting  worse  every  day.  This 
was  very  clear  to  me — and  very  plain  to  my 
parents.  They  were  anxious  to  do  something  for 
me  and  do  it  quickly,  so  they  called  in  a  skilled 
physician.  They  told  him  about  my  trouble.  He 
gave  me  a  cursory  examination  and  decided  that 
my  stuttering  was  caused  by  nervousness,  and 
gave  me  some  very  distasteful  medicine,  which  I 
was  compelled  to  take  three  times  a  day.  This 
medicine  did  me  no  good.  I  took  it  for  five  years, 
but  there  was  no  progress  made  toward  curing 
my  stuttering.  The  reason  was  simple.  Stutter- 


22  STAMMEEING 

ing  cannot  be  cured  by  bitter  medicine.  The 
physician  was  using  the  wrong  method.  He  was 
treating  the  effect  and  not  the  cause.  He  was 
of  the  opinion  that  it  was  the  nervousness  that 
caused  my  stuttering,  whereas  the  fact  of  the 
matter  was,  it  was  my  stuttering  that  caused  the 
nervousness. 

I  do  not  blame  this  physician  in  the  least  be- 
cause of  his  failure,  for  he  was  not  an  expert  on 
the  subject  of  speech  defects.  While  he  was  a 
medical  man  of  known  ability,  he  had  not  made 
a  study  of  speech  disorders  and  knew  practically 
nothing  about  either  the  cause  or  cure  of  stam- 
mering or  stuttering.  Even  today,  prominent 
medical  men  will  tell  you  that  their  profession  has 
given  little  or  no  attention  to  defects  of  speech 
and  take  little  interest  in  such  cases. 

Some  time  later,  after  the  physician  had  failed 
to  benefit  me,  a  traveling  medicine  man  came  to 
our  community,  set  up  his  tent,  and  stayed  for 
a  week.  Of  course,  like  all  traveling  medicine 
men,  his  remedies  were  cure-alls.  One  night  in 
making  his  talk  before  the  crowd,  he  mentioned 
the  fact  that  his  wonderful  concoction,  taken 
with  the  pamphlet  that  he  would  furnish,  both 


ITS   CAUSE   AND   CURE  23 

for  the  sum  of  one  dollar,  would  cure  stammer- 
ing. I  didn't  have  the  dollar,  so  I  did  not  buy. 
But  the  next  day  I  went  back,  and  I  took  the  dol- 
lar along.  He  got  my  dollar,  and  I  still  have  the 
book.  Of  course,  I  received  no  benefit  what- 
ever. I  later  came  to  the  conclusion  that  the 
medicine  man  had  been  in  the  neighborhood  long 
enough  to  have  pointed  out  to  him  "BEN  BOGUE'S 
BOY  WHO  STUTTEBS"  (as  I  was  known)  and 
had  decided  that  when  I  was  in  his  audience  a 
hint  or  two  on  the  virtues  of  his  wonderful  remedy 
in  cases  of  stammering,  would  foe  sufficient  to 
extract  a  dollar  from  me  for  a  tryout. 

These  experiences,  however,  were  valuable  to 
me,  even  though  they  were  costly,  for  they  taught 
me  a  badly-needed  lesson,  to  wit:  That  drugs 
and  medicines  are  not  a  cure  for  stammering. 

Many  of  the  people  who  came  in  contact  with 
me,  and  those  who  talked  the  matter  over  with 
my  parents,  said  that  I  would  outgrow  the 
trouble.  "All  that  is  necessary,"  remarked  one 
man,  "is  for  him  to  forget  that  he  stammers,  and 
the  trouble  will  be  gone." 

This  was  a  rather  foolish  suggestion  and  sim- 
ply proved  how  little  the  man  knew  about  the 


24  STAMMERING 

subject.  In  the  first  place,  a  stammerer  cannot 
forget  his  difficulty — who  can  say  that  he  would 
be  cured  if  he  did?  You  might  as  well  say  to  a 
man  holding  a  hot  poker,  "If  you  will  only  forget 
that  the  poker  is  hot,  it  will  be  cool."  It  takes 
something  more  than  forgetfulness  to  cure 
stammering. 

The  belief  held  by  both  my  parents  and  myself 
that  I  would  outgrow  my  difficulty  was  one  of 
the  gravest  mistakes  we  ever  made.  Had  I  fol- 
lowed the  advice  of  others  who  believed  in  the 
outgrowing  theory  it  eventually  would  have 
caused  me  to  become  a  confirmed  stammerer, 
entirely  beyond  hope  of  cure. 

Today,  as  a  result  of  twenty-eight  years'  daily 
contact  with  stammerers,!  know  that  stammering 
cannot  be  outgrown.  The  man  who  suggests  that 
it  is  possible  to  cure  stammering  by  outgrowing 
it  is  doing  a  great  injustice  to  the  stammerer, 
because  he  is  giving  him  a  false  hope — in  fact  the 
most  futile  hope  that  any  stammerer  ever  had.  I 
wish  I  could  paint  in  the  sky,  in  letters  of  fire,  the 
truth  that  "Stammering  cannot  be  outgrown," 
because  this,  of  all  things,  is  the  most  frequent 
pitfall  of  the  stammerer,  his  greatest  delusion  and 
one  of  the  most  prolific  causes  of  continued  suffer- 


ITS   CAUSE   AND   CURE  25 

ing.  I  know  whereof  I  speak,  because  I  tried  it 
myself.  I  know  how  many  different  people  held 
up  to  me  the  hope  that  I  would  outgrow  it. 

My  father  offered  me  a  valuable  shotgun  if  I 
would  stop  stammering.  My  mother  offered  me 
money,  a  watch  and  a  horse  and  buggy.  These 
inducements  made  me  strain  every  nerve  to  stop 
my  imperfect  utterance,  but  all  to  no  avail.  At 
this  time  I  knew  nothing  of  the  underlying  prin- 
ciples of  speech  and  any  effort  which  I  made  to 
stop  my  stammering  was  merely  a  crude,  misdi- 
rected attempt  which  naturally  had  no  chances 
for  success. 

I  learned  that  prizes  will  never  cure  stammer- 
ing. I  found  out  too,  something  I  have  never 
since  forgotten:  that  the  man,  woman  or  child 
who  stammers  needs  no  inducement  to  cause  him 
to  desire  to  be  cured,  because  the  change  from 
his  condition  as  a  stammerer  to  that  of  a  non- 
stammerer  is  of  more  inducement  to  the  sufferer 
than  all  the  money  you  could  offer  him.  I  have 
never  yet  seen  a  man,  woman  or  child  who  wanted 
to  stammer  or  stutter. 

The  offer  of  prizes  doing  no  good,  I  took  long 
trips  to  get  my  mind  off  the  affliction.  I  did 


26  STAMMERING 

everything  in  my  power,  worked  almost  day  and 
night,  exerted  every  effort  I  could  command — it 
was  all  in  vain. 

The  idea  that  I  would  finally  outgrow  my 
difficulty  was  strengthened  in  the  minds  of  my 
parents  and  friends  by  the  fact  that  there  were 
times  when  my  impediment  seemed  almost  to  dis- 
appear, but  to  our  surprise  and  disappointment, 
it  always  came  back  again,  each  time  in  a  more 
aggravated  form;  each  time  with  a  stronger  hold 
upon  me  than  ever  before. 

I  found  out,  then,  one  of  the  fundamental 
characteristics  of  stammering — its  intermittent 
tendency.  In  other  words,  I  discovered  that  a 
partial  relief  from  the  difficulty  was  one  of  the 
true  symptoms  of  the  malady.  And  I  learned 
further  that  this  relief  is  only  temporary  and  not 
what  we  first  thought  it  to  be,  viz:  a  sign  that  the 
disorder  was  leaving. 


CHAPTER  III 

MY  SEAECH  CONTINUES 

MY  parents'  efforts  to  have  me  cured,  how- 
ever, did  not  cease  with  my  visit  to  the 
medicine  man.  We  were  still  looking  for  some- 
thing that  would  bring  relief.  My  teacher,  Miss 
Cora  Critchlow,  handed  me  an  advertisement  one 
day,  telling  me  of  a  man  who  claimed  to  be  able 
to  cure  stammering  by  mail.  In  the  hope  that  I 
would  get  some  good  from  the  treatment,  my 
parents  sent  this  mail  order  man  a  large  sum  of 
money.  In  return  for  this  I  was  furnished  with 
instructions  to  do  a  number  of  useless  things,  such 
as  holding  toothpicks  between  my  teeth,  talking 
through  my  nose,  whistling  before  I  spoke  a 
word,  and  many  other  foolish  things.  It  was  at 
this  time  that  I  learned  once  and  for  all,  the 
imprudence  of  throwing  money  away  on  these 
mail  order  "cures,"  so-called,  and  I  made  up  my 
mind  to  bother  no  more  with  this  man  and  his 
kind. 

So  far  as  the  mail  order  instructions  were  con- 
cerned, they  were  crude  and  unscientific — merely 


28  STAMMERING 

a  hodge-podge  of  pseudo-technical  phraseology 
and  crass  ignorance — a  meaningless  jargon 
scarcely  intelligible  to  the  most  highly  educated, 
and  practically  impossible  of  interpretation  by 
the  average  stammerer  who  was  supposed  to  fol- 
low the  course.  Even  after  I  had,  by  persistent 
effort,  interpreted  the  instructions  and  followed 
them  closely  for  many  months,  there  was  not  a 
sign  of  the  slightest  relief  from  my  trouble.  It 
was  evident  to  me  even  then  that  I  could  never 
cure  myself  by  following  a  mail  cure. 

Today,  after  twenty-eight  years  of  experience 
in  the  cure  of  stammering,  I  can  say  with  full 
authority,  that  stammering  cannot  be  successfully 
treated  by  mail.  The  very  nature  of  the  diffi- 
culty, as  well  as  the  method  of  treatment,  make 
it  impossible  to  put  the  instructions  into  print  or 
to  have  the  stammerer  follow  out  the  method 
from  a  printed  sheet. 

As  I  approached  manhood,  my  impediment 
began  to  get  worse.  My  stuttering  changed  to 
stammering.  Instead  of  rapidly  repeating  syl- 
lables or  words,  I  was  unable  to  begin  a  word. 
I  stood  transfixed,  my  limbs  drawing  themselves 
into  all  kinds  of  unnatural  positions.  There  were 
violent  spasmodic  movements  of  the  head,  and 


ITS   CAUSE   AND   CURE  29 

contractions  of  my  whole  body.  The  muscles  of 
my  throat  would  swell,  affecting  the  respiratory 
organs,  and  causing  a  curious  barking  sound. 
When  I  finally  got  started,  I  would  utter  the  first 
part  of  the  sentence  slowly,  gradually  increase 
the  speed,  and  make  a  rush  toward  the  end. 

At  other  times,  when  attempting  to  speak,  my 
lips  would  pucker  up,  firmly  set  together,  and 
I  would  be  unable  to  separate  them,  until  my 
breath  was  exhausted.  Then  I  would  gasp  for 
more  breath,  struggling  with  the  words  I  desired 
to  speak,  until  the  veins  of  my  forehead  would 
swell,  my  face  would  become  red,  and  I  would 
sink  back,  wholly  unable  to  express  myself,  and 
usually  being  obliged  to  resort  to  writing. 

These  paroxysms  left  me  extremely  nervous 
and  in  a  seriously  weakened  condition.  After 
one  of  these  attacks,  the  cold  perspiration  would 
break  out  on  my  forehead  in  great  beads  and  I 
would  sink  into  the  nearest  chair,  where  I  would 
be  compelled  to  remain  until  I  had  regained  my 
strength. 

My  affliction  was  taking  all  my  energy,  sap- 
ping my  strength,  deadening  my  mental  facul- 
ties, and  placing  me  at  a  hopeless  disadvantage 
in  every  way.  I  could  do  nothing  that  other 


30  STAMMERING 

people  did.  I  appeared  unnatural.  I  was  ner- 
vous, irritable,  despondent.  This  despondency 
now  brought  about  a  peculiar  condition.  I  began 
to  believe  that  everyone  was  more  or  less  an 
enemy  of  mine.  And  still  worse,  I  came  to  be- 
lieve that  I  was  an  enemy  of  myself,  which  feel- 
ing threw  me  into  despair,  the  depths  of  which 
I  do  not  wish  to  recall,  even  now. 

I  was  not  only  miserably  unhappy  myself, 
I  made  everyone  else  around  me  unhappy, 
although  I  did  it,  not  intentionally,  but  because 
my  affliction  had  caused  me  to  lose  control  of 
myself. 

In  this  con'dition,  my  nerves  were  strained  to 
the  breaking  point  all  day  long,  and  many  a  night 
I  can  remember  crying  myself  to  sleep — crying 
purely  to  relieve  that  stored-up  nervous  tension, 
and  falling  off  to  sleep  as  a  result  of  exhaustion. 

As  I  said  before,  there  were  periods  of  grace 
when  the  trouble  seemed  almost  to  vanish  and  I 
would  be  delighted  to  believe  that  perhaps  it  was 
gone  forever — happy  hope  I  But  it  was  but  a 
delusion,  a  mirage  in  the  distance,  a  new  road  to 
lead  me  astray.  The  affliction  always  returned, 
as  every  stammerer  knows — returned  worse  than 


ITS   CAUSE   AND   CUKE  31 

before.  All  the  hopes  that  I  would  outgrow  my 
trouble,  were  found  to  be  false  hopes.  For  me, 
there  was  no  such  thing  as  outgrowing  it  and  I 
have  since  discovered  that  after  the  age  of  six 
only  one-fifth  of  one  per  cent,  ever  outgrow  the 
trouble. 

Another  thing  which  I  always  thought  peculiar 
when  I  was  a  stammerer  was  the  fact  that  I  had 
practically  no  difficulty  in  talking  to  animals 
when  I  was  alone  with  them.  I  remember  very 
well  that  we  had  a  large  bulldog  called  Jim, 
which  I  was  very  fond  of.  I  used  to  believe  that 
Jim  understood  my  troubles  better  than  any 
friend  I  had,  unless  it  was  Old  Sol,  our  family 
driving  horse. 

Jim  used  to  go  with  me  on  all  my  jaunts — I 
could  talk  to  him  by  the  hour  and  never  stammer 
a  word.  And  Old  Sol — well,  when  everything 
seemed  to  be  going  against  me,  I  used  to  go  out 
and  talk  things  over  with  Old  Sol.  Somehow 
he  seemed  to  understand — he  used  to  whinney 
softly  and  rub  his  nose  against  my  shoulder  as 
if  to  say,  "I  understand,  Bennie,  I  understand!" 

Somehow  my  father  had  discovered  this  pe- 
culiarity of  my  affliction — that  is,  my  ability  to 
talk  to  animals  or  when  alone.  Something  sug- 


32  STAMMERING 

gested  to  him  that  my  stammering  could  be 
cured,  if  I  could  be  kept  by  myself  for  several 
weeks.  With  this  thought  in  mind,  he  suggested 
that  I  go  on  a  hunting  and  fishing  trip  in  the 
wilds  of  the  northwest,  taking  no  guide,  no  com- 
panion of  any  sort,  so  that  there  would  be  no 
necessity  of  my  speaking  to  any  human  being 
while  I  was  gone. 

My  father's  idea  was  that  if  my  vocal  organs 
had  a  complete  rest,  I  would  be  restored  to  per- 
fect speech.  As  I  afterwards  proved  to  my  own 
satisfaction  by  actual  trial,  this  idea  was  entirely 
wrong.  You  can  not  hope  to  restore  the  proper 
action  of  your  vocal  organs  by  ceasing  to  use 
them.  The  proper  functioning  of  any  bodily 
organ  is  the  result,  not  of  ceasing  to  use  it  at  all, 
but  rather  of  using  it  correctly. 

This  can  be  very  easily  proved  to  the  satisfac- 
tion of  any  one.  Take  the  case  of  the  small  boy 
who  boasts  of  his  muscle.  He  is  conscious  of  an 
increasing  strength  in  the  muscles  of  his  arm  not 
because  he  has  failed  to  use  these  muscles  but 
because  he  has  used  them  continually,  causing  a 
faster-than-ordinary  development. 

You  can  readily  imagine  that  I  looked  forward 
to  my  "vacation"  with  keen  anticipation,  for  I 


ITS   CAUSE   AND   CUKE  33 

had  never  been  up  in  the  northwest  and  I  was 
full  of  stories  I  had  read  and  ideas  I  had  formed 
of  its  wonders. 

The  trip,  lasting  two  weeks,  did  me  scarcely 
any  good  at  all.  The  most  I  can  say  for  it  is 
that  it  quieted  my  nerves  and  put  me  in  some- 
what better  physical  condition,  which  a  couple  of 
weeks  in  the  outdoor  country  would  do  for  any 
growing  boy. 

But  this  trip  did  not  cure  my  stammering,  nor 
did  it  tend  to  alleviate  the  intensity  of  the  trouble 
in  the  least,  save  through  a  lessened  nervous  state 
for  a  few  days.  Today,  after  twenty-eight  years' 
experience,  I  know  that  it  would  be  just  as 
sensible  to  say  that  a  wagon  stuck  in  the  soft  mud 
would  get  out  by  "resting"  there  as  it  is  to  say 
that  stammering  can  be  eradicated  by  allowing 
the  vocal  organs  to  rest  through  disuse. 

Shortly  after  my  return  from  the  trip  to  the 
northwest,  my  father  died,  with  the  result  that 
our  household  was,  for  a  time,  very  much  broken 
up.  For  a  while,  at  least,  my  stammering,  though 
not  forgotten,  did  not  receive  a  great  deal  of 
attention,  for  there  were  many  other  things  to 
think  about. 

The  summer  following  my  father's  death,  how- 


84  STAMMERING 

ever,  I  began  again  my  so-far  fruitless  search  for 
a  cure  for  my  stammering,  this  time  placing 
myself  under  the  care  and  instruction  of  a  man 
claiming  to  be  "The  World's  Greatest  Specialist 
in  the  Cure  of  Stammering."  He  may  have  been 
the  world's  greatest  specialist,  but  not  in  the  cure 
of  stammering.  He  did  succeed,  however,  by  the 
use  of  his  absurd  methods,  in  putting  me  through 
a  course  that  resulted  in  the  membrane  and  lining 
of  my  throat  and  vocal  organs  becoming  irritated 
and  inflamed  to  such  an  extent  that  I  was  com- 
pelled to  undergo  treatment  for  a  throat  affec- 
tion that  threatened  to  be  as  serious  as  the  stam- 
mering itself. 

I  tried  everything  that  came  to  my  attention — 
first  one  thing  and  then  another — but  without 
results.  Still  I  refused  to  be  discouraged.  I  kept 
on  and  on,  my  mother  constantly  encouraging 
and  reassuring  me.  And  you  will  later  see  that 
I  found  a  method  that  cured  me. 

There  are  always  those  who  stand  idly  about 
and  say,  "It  can't  be  donel"  Such  people  as 
these  laughed  at  Fulton  with  his  steamboat,  they 
laughed  at  Stephenson  and  his  steam  locomotive, 
they  laughed  at  Wright  and  the  airplane. 


ITS   CAUSE   AND   CURE  35 

They  say,  "It  can't  be  done" — but  it  is  done, 
nevertheless. 

I  turned  a  deaf  ear  to  the  people  who  tried  to 
convince  me  that  it  couldn't  be  done.  I  had  a 
firm  belief  in  that  old  adage,  "Where  there  is  a 
will  there  is  a  way,"  and  I  made  another  of  my 
own,  which  said,  "I  will  find  a  way  or  make  oneT' 

And  I  did! 


CHAPTER  IV 

A  STAMMERER  HUNTS  A  JOB 

AFTER  recovering  from  my  sad  experiment 
with  the  "Wonderful  Specialist,"  I  did  not 
want  to  go  home  and  listen  to  the  Anvil  Chorus 
of  "It  Can't  Be  Donel"  and  "I  Told  You  Sol" 
I  had  no  desire  to  be  the  object  of  laughter  as 
well  as  pity.  So  I  tried  to  get  a  job  in  that  same 
city.  I  went  from  office  to  office — but  nobody 
had  a  job  for  a  man  who  stammered. 

Finally  I  did  land  a  job,  however,  such  as  it 
was.  My  duties  were  to  operate  the  elevator  in 
a  hotel.  How  I  managed  to  get  that  job,  I  often 
wonder  now,  for  nobody  on  whom  I  called  had 
any  place  for  a  boy  or  man  who  stammered.  I 
thought  it  would  be  easy  to  find  a  job  where  I 
wouldn't  need  to  talk,  but  when  I  started  out  to 
look  for  this  job,  I  found  it  wasn't  so  easy  after 
all.  Almost  any  job  requires  a  man  who  can 
talk.  This  I  had  learned  in  my  own  search  for  a 
place.  But  somehow  or  other,  I  managed  to  get 
that  job  as  elevator  boy  in  a  hotel. 

For  the  work  as  elevator  boy  I  was  paid  three 


ITS   CAUSE   AND   CURE  37 

dollars  a  week.  Wasn't  that  great  pay  for  a  man 
grown?  But  that's  what  I  got. 

That  is,  I  got  it  for  a  little  while,  until  I  lost 
my  job.  For  lose  it  I  did  before  very  long.  I 
found  out  that  I  couldn't  do  much  with  even  an 
elevator  boy's  job  at  three  dollars  a  week  unless 
I  could  talk.  My  employer  found  it  out,  too,  and 
then  he  found  somebody  who  could  take  my  place 
— a  boy  who  could  answer  when  spoken  to. 

Well,  here  I  was  out  of  a  job  again.  I  am 
afraid  I  came  pretty  near  being  discouraged 
about  that  time.  Things  looked  pretty  hopeless 
for  me — it  was  mighty  hard  work  to  get  a  job 
and  the  place  didn't  last  long  after  I  had  gotten 
it. 

But,  nevertheless,  the  only  thing  to  do  was  to 
try  again.  I  started  the  search  all  over  again. 
I  tried  first  one  place  and  then  another.  One 
man  wanted  me  to  start  out  as  a  salesman.  He 
showed  me  how  I  could  make  more  money  than 
I  had  ever  made  in  my  life — convinced  me  that  I 
could  make  it.  Then  I  started  to  tell  my  part  of 
the  story — but  I  didn't  get  very  far  before  he 
discovered  that  I  was  a  stammerer.  That  was 
enough  for  him — with  a  gesture  of  hopelessness, 
he  turned  to  his  desk.  "You'll  never  do,  young 


38  STAMMERING 

man,  you'll  never  do.  You  can't  even  talk!" 
And  the  worst  of  it  was  that  he  was  right. 

I  once  thought  I  had  landed  a  job  as  stock 
chaser  in  a  factory,  but  here,  too,  stammering 
barred  the  way,  for  they  told  me  that  even  the 
stock  chaser  had  to  be  able  to  deliver  verbal  mes- 
sages from  one  foreman  to  another.  I  didn't 
dare  to  try  that. 

Eventually,  I  drifted  around  to  the  Union 
News  Company.  They  wanted  a  boy  to  sell 
newspapers  on  trains  running  out  over  the  Grand 
Trunk  Railway.  I  took  the  job — the  last  job  in 
the  world  I  should  have  expected  to  hold,  because 
of  all  the  places  a  newsboy's  job  is  one  where  you 
need  to  have  a  voice  and  the  ability  to  talk. 

I  hope  no  stammerer  ever  has  a  position  that 
causes  him  as  much  humiliation  and  suffering  as 
that  job  caused  me.  You  can  imagine  what  it 
meant  to  me  to  go  up  and  down  the  aisles  of  the 
train,  calling  papers  and  every  few  moments 
finding  out  that  I  couldn't  say  what  I  started  out 
to  say  and  then  go  gasping  and  grunting  down 
the  aisle  making  all  sorts  of  facial  grimaces. 

How  the  passengers  laughed  at  me!  And  how 
they  made  fun  of  me  and  asked  me  all  sorts  of 
questions  just  to  hear  me  try  to  talk.  It  almost 


ITS   CAUSE   AND   CURE  39 

made  me  wish  I  could  never  see  a  human  being 
again,  so  keen  was  the  suffering  and  so  tense  were 
my  nerves  as  a  result  of  this  work. 

I  don't  believe  I  ever  did  anything  that  kept 
me  in  a  more  frenzied  mental  state  than  this 
work  of  trying  to  sell  newspapers — and  it  wasn't 
very  long  (as  I  had  expected)  until  the  manager 
found  out  my  situation  and  gently  let  me  out. 

Then  I  gave  up,  all  at  once.  Was  I  discour- 
aged? Well,  perhaps.  But  not  exactly  discour- 
aged. Rather  I  saw  the  plain  hopelessness  of 
trying  to  get  or  hold  a  job  in  my  condition.  So 
I  prepared  to  go  home.  I  didn't  want  to  do  it, 
because  I  knew  the  neighbors  and  friends  round 
about  would  be  ready  for  me  with,  "I  told  you 
so"  and  "I  knew  it  couldn't  be  done"  and  a  lot 
of  gratuitous  information  like  that. 

But  I  gave  up,  nevertheless,  deeply  disap- 
pointed to  think  that  once  again  I  had  failed  to 
be  cured  of  stammering,  yet  all  the  while  resolv- 
ing just  as  firmly  as  ever  that  I  would  try  again 
and  that  I  would  never  give  up  hope  as  long  as 
there  remained  anything  for  me  to  do. 

And  this  rule  I  followed  out,  month  after 
month  and  year  after  year,  until  in  the  end  I  was 
richly  rewarded  for  my  patience  and  persistence. 


CHAPTER  V 

FURTHEB  FUTILE  ATTEMPTS  TO  BE  CUBED 


next  summer  I  decided  to  visit  eastern 
J_  institutions  for  the  cure  of  stammering  and 
determine  if  these  could  do  any  more  for  me  than 
had  already  been  done  —  which  as  the  reader  has 
seen,  was  practically  nothing.  I  bought  a  ticket 
for  Philadelphia,  where  I  remained  for  some 
time,  and  where  I  gained  more  information  of 
value  than  in  all  of  my  previous  efforts  combined. 

I  found  in  the  Quaker  City  an  old  man  who 
had  made  speech  defects  almost  a  life  study.  He 
knew  more  about  the  true  principles  of  speech 
and  the  underlying  fundamentals  in  the  produc- 
tion of  voice  than  all  of  the  rest  put  together. 
He  taught  me  these  things,  and  gave  me  a  solid 
foundation  on  which  to  build.  True,  he  did  not 
cure  my  stammering.  But  that  was  not  because 
ke  failed  to  understand  its  cause,  but  merely  be- 
cause he  had  not  worked  out  the  correct  method 
of  removing  the  cause. 

It  was  this  man  who  first  brought  home  to  me 
the  fact  that  principles  of  speech  are  constant, 


ITS   CAUSE   AND   CUBE  41 

that  they  never  change  and  that  every  person 
who  talks  normally  follows  out  the  same  princi- 
ples of  speech,  while  every  person  who  stutters 
or  stammers  violates  these  principles  of  speech. 
That  is  the  basis  of  sound  procedure  for  the  cure 
of  stammering  and  I  must  acknowledge  my  in- 
debtedness to  this  sincere  old  gentleman  who  did 
so  much  for  me  in  the  way  of  knowledge,  even 
though  he  did  but  little  for  me  in  the  way  of 
results. 

After  leaving  Philadelphia,  I  visited  Pitts- 
burgh, Baltimore,  Washington,  New  York,  Bos- 
ton and  other  eastern  cities,  searching  for  a  cure, 
but  did  not  find  it.  I  was  benefited  very  little. 
These  experiences,  however,  all  possessed  a  cer- 
tain value,  although  I  did  not  know  it  at  the  time. 
They  taught  me  the  things  which  would  not  work 
and  by  a  simple  process  of  elimination  I  later 
found  the  things  which  would. 

Finally,  however,  having  become  disgusted 
with  my  eastern  trip,  I  bought  a  ticket  for  home 
and  boarded  the  train  more  nearly  convinced 
than  ever  that  I  had  an  incurable  case  of  stam- 
mering. 

Some  time  after  trying  my  experiment  with 
the  eastern  schools,  I  saw  the  advertisement  of 


42  STAMMERING 

a  professor  from  Chicago  saying  that  he  would 
be  at  Fort  Wayne,  Indiana,  (which  was  40  miles 
from  my  home) ,  for  a  week. 

He  was  there.  So  was  I.  But  to  my  sorrow. 
I  paid  him  twenty  dollars  for  which  he  taught  me 
a  few  simple  breathing  and  vocal  exercises,  most 
of  which  I  already  knew  by  heart,  having  been 
drilled  in  them  time  and  again.  This  fellow  was 
like  so  many  others  who  claimed  to  cure  stam- 
mering— he  was  in  the  business  just  because 
there  were  stammerers  to  cure,  and  not  because 
he  knew  anything  about  it.  He  treated  the  ef- 
fects of  the  trouble  and  did  not  attempt  to  re- 
move the  cause.  The  fact  of  the  matter  is,  I 
doubt  whether  he  knew  anything  about  the  cause. 

Then  one  Sunday  while  reading  a  Cincinnati 
Sunday  newspaper,  I  ran  across  an  advertise- 
ment of  a  School  of  Elocution,  in  which  was  the 
statement,  "Stammering  Positively  Cured!" 
Whenever  I  saw  a  sign  "Vocal  Culture"  I  be- 
came interested,  so  I  clipped  the  advertisement, 
corresponded  with  the  school  and  not  many  Sun- 
days later,  being  able  to  secure  excursion  rates  to 
Cincinnati,  I  made  the  trip  and  prepared  to  begin 
my  work. 

The  cost  of  the  course  was  only  fifty  dollars 


ITS   CAUSE   AND   CURE  43 

and  I  thought  I  would  be  getting  cured  mighty 
cheap  if  I  succeeded.  So  I  gave  this  school  a 
"whirl"  with  the  idea  of  going  back  home  in  a 
short  time  cured — to  the  surprise  of  my  family 
and  friends.  But  I  was  doomed  to  disappoint- 
ment. I  took  the  twenty  lessons,  but  went  home 
stammering  as  badly  as  ever.  You  can  imagine 
how  I  felt  as  the  Big  Four  train  whistled  at 
the  Wabash  river  just  before  pulling  into  the 
Wabash  station,  where  I  was  to  get  off. 

Here  was  another  failure  that  could  be  checked 
up  against  the  instructor  who  knew  nothing 
whatever  about  the  cause  of  stammering.  The 
whole  idea  of  the  course  was  to  cultivate  voice 
and  make  me  an  orator.  That  was  very  fine  and 
would,  no  doubt,  have  done  me  a  great  deal  of 
good,  but  it  was  of  no  use  to  try  to  cultivate  a 
fine  voice  until  I  could  use  that  voice  in  the 
normal  way.  The  finest  voice  in  the  world  is  of 
no  use  if  you  stammer,  and  cannot  use  it.  The 
school  of  elocution  went  the  same  way  as  all  the 
rest — it  was  a  total  failure  so  far  as  curing  my 
stammering  was  concerned. 

By  this  time,  my  effort  to  be  cured  of  stam- 
mering had  become  a  habit,  just  as  eating  and 
sleeping  are  habits.  I  was  determined  to  be 


44  STAMMERING 

cured.  I  made  up  my  mind  I  would  never  give 
up.  True,  I  often  said  to  myself,  "I  may  never 
be  cured,"  but  in  the  same  breath  I  resolved  that 
if  I  was  not,  it  could  never  be  said  that  it  was 
because  I  was  a  "quitter." 

My  next  experiment  was  with  a  man  who 
claimed  he  could  cure  my  stammering  in  one  hour. 
Think  of  it.  Here  I  had  been,  spending  weeks 
and  months  trying  out  just  ONE  way  of  cure 
and  here  was  a  man  who  could  do  the  whole  job 
in  one  hour.  Wonderful  power  he  must  possess, 
I  thought.  Of  course,  I  did  not  believe  he  could 
do  it.  I  could  not  believe  it.  It  was  not  believ- 
able. But  nevertheless,  in  my  effort  to  be  cured, 
I  had  resolved  to  leave  no  stone  unturned.  I 
made  up  my  mind  that  the  only  way  to  be  sure 
that  I  was  not  missing  the  successful  method  was 
to  try  them  all. 

So  I  put  myself  under  this  man's  hand.  He 
was  a  hypnotist.  He  felt  able  to  restore  speech 
with  a  hypnotic  sleep  and  the  proper  hypnotic 
suggestion  while  I  was  in  the  trance.  But  like 
all  the  fake  fol-de-rol  with  which  I  had  come  in 
contact,  he  did  not  even  make  an  impression. 

I  will  say  in  behalf  of  this  hypnotic  stammer 
doctor,  however,  that  he  was  following  distin- 


ITS   CAUSE   AND   CURE  45 

guished  precedent  in  attempting  to  cure  stam- 
mering by  hypnotism.  German  professors  in 
particular  have  been  especially  zealous  in  follow- 
ing out  this  line  of  endeavor  and  many  of  them 
have  written  volumes  on  the  subject  only  to  end 
up  with  the  conclusion  (in  their  own  minds,  at 
least)  that  it  is  a  failure.  Hypnotism  may  be 
said  to  be  a  condition  where  the  will  of  the  sub- 
ject is  entirely  dormant  and  his  every  act  and 
thought  controlled  by  the  mind  of  the  hypnotist. 
I  do  not  know,  not  having  been  conscious  at  the 
time,  but  it  is  not  improbable  that  while  in  the 
hypnotic  state,  I  was  able  to  talk  without  stam- 
mering, since  my  words  were  directed  by  the 
mind  of  the  professor,  and  not  my  own  mind. 
But  inasmuch  as  I  couldn't  have  the  professor 
carried  around  with  me  through  the  rest  of  my 
lifetime  in  order  to  use  his  mind,  the  treatment 
could  not  benefit  me. 

I  next  got  in  touch  with  an  honest-looking  old 
man  with  a  beard  like  one  of  the  prophets,  who 
assured  me  with  a  great  deal  of  professional  dig- 
nity, that  stammering  was  a  mere  trifle  for  a 
magnetic  healer  like  himself  and  that  he  could 
cure  it  entirely  in  ten  treatments.  So  I  planked 
down  the  specified  amount  for  ten  treatments, 


46  STAMMERING 

and  went  to  him  regularly  three  times  a  week  for 
almost  a  month,  when  he  explained  to  me,  again 
with  a  plenitude  of  professionalism,  that  my  case 
was  a  very  peculiar  one  and  that  it  would  require 
ten  more  treatments.  But  I  could  not  figure  out 
how,  if  ten  treatments  had  done  me  no  good,  ten 
more  would  do  any  better.  So  I  declined  to  try 
his  methods  any  further.  Once  again  I  said  to 
myself,  "Well,  this  has  failed,  too — I  wonder 
what  next?" 

The  next  happened  to  be  electrical  treatments. 
When  I  visited  the  electrical  treatment  specialist, 
he  explained  to  me  in  a  very  effective  manner 
just  how  (according  to  his  views)  stammering 
was  caused  by  certain  contractions  of  the  muscles 
of  the  vocal  organs,  etc.,  and  told  me  that  his 
treatment  surely  was  the  thing  to  eliminate  this 
contraction  and  leave  my  speech  entirely  free 
from  stammering.  I  knew  something  about  my 
stammering  then,  but  not  a  great  deal — conse- 
quently his  explanation  sounded  plausible  to  me 
and  appealed  to  me  as  being  very  sensible  and 
so  I  decided  to  give  it  a  trial.  I  was  glad  after 
it  was  over  that  I  had  received  no  bad  effects — 
that  was  all  the  cause  I  had  to  be  glad,  for  fee 
had  not  changed  my  stammering  one  iota,  nor 


ITS   CAUSE   AND   CURE  47 

had  he  changed  my  speech  in  any  way  to  make  it 
easier  for  me  to  talk.  Thus,  had  I  found  another 
one  of  the  things  that  will  not  work  and  chalked 
up  another  failure  against  my  attempts  to  be 
cured  of  stammering. 

By  this  time,  the  reader  may  well  wonder  why 
I  was  not  discouraged  in  my  efforts  to  be  cured. 
Well,  who  will  say  that  I  was  not?  I  believe  I 
was — as  far  as  it  was  possible  for  me  to  be  dis- 
couraged at  that  time.  But  despite  all  my  fail- 
ures, I  had  made  up  my  mind  never  to  give  up 
until  I  was  cured  of  stammering.  I  set  myself 
doggedly  to  the  task  of  ridding  myself  of  an 
impediment  that  I  knew  would  always  hold  me 
down  and  prevent  any  measure  of  success.  I 
stayed  with  this  task.  I  never  gave  up.  I  kept 
this  one  thing  always  in  mind.  It  was  a  life  job 
with  me  if  necessary — and  I  was  not  a  "quitter." 
So  failures  and  discouragements  simply  steeled 
me  to  more  intense  endeavors  to  be  cured.  And 
while  these  endeavors  cost  my  parents  many  hun- 
dreds of  dollars  and  cost  me  many  years  of  time, 
still,  I  feel  today  that  they  were  worth  while — not 
worth  while  enough  to  go  through  again,  or  worth 
while  enough  to  recommend  to  any  one  else — but 
at  least  not  a  total  loss  to  me. 


CHAPTER  VI 

I  BEFUSE  TO  BE  DISCOURAGED 

AFTER  I  had  tried  the  electric  treatment  and 
found  it  wanting,  I  heard  of  a  clairvoyant 
who  could,  by  looking  at  a  person,  tell  his  name, 
age,  occupation,  place  of  residence,  etc.,  and 
could  cure  all  diseases  and  afflictions  including 
stammering.  So  I  thought  I  would  give  him  a 
trial.  He  claimed  to  work  through  a  "greater 
power" — whatever  that  was — and  so  I  paid  him 
his  fee  to  see  the  "greater  power"  work — and  to 
be  cured  of  stammering,  as  per  promise.  But 
there  was  nothing  doing  in  the  line  of  a  cure — 
all  I  got  in  trying  to  be  cured,  was  another  chap- 
ter added  to  my  book  of  experience. 

Following  this  experience,  I  tried  an  osteo- 
path, whose  methods,  however  good  they  might 
have  been,  affected  merely  the  physical  organs 
and  could  not  hope  to  reach  the  real  cause  of  my 
trouble.  I  do  not  doubt  that  this  man  was  en- 
tirely sincere  in  explaining  his  own  science  to  me 
in  a  way  that  led  me  to  build  up  hopes  of  relief 


ITS   CAUSE   AND   CURE  49 

from  that  method.  He  simply  did  not  under- 
stand stammering  and  its  causes  and  was  there- 
fore not  prepared  to  treat  it. 

I  was  told  of  another  doctor  who  claimed  to 
be  able  to  cure  stammering.  When  I  called  to 
see  him,  he  had  me  wait  in  his  reception  room  for 
nearly  two  hours,  for  the  purpose,  I  presume,  of 
giving  me  the  impression  that  he  was  a  very  busy 
man.  Then  he  called  me  into  his  private  consul- 
tation room,  where  he  apparently  had  all  of  the 
modern  and  up-to-date  surgical  instruments.  He 
put  me  through  a  thorough  examination,  after 
which  he  said  that  the  only  thing  to  cure  me  was 
a  surgical  operation  to  have  my  tonsils  removed. 
I  was  not  willing  to  consent  to  the  use  of  the 
knife,  so  therefore  the  operation  was  never  per- 
formed. 

Since  that  time,  however,  the  practice  of  oper- 
ating on  children  especially  for  the  removal  of 
adenoids  and  tonsils  has  become  very  popular  and 
quite  frequently  this  is  the  remedy  prescribed  for 
various  and  sundry  ailments  of  childhood.  In  no 
case  must  a  parent  expect  to  eradicate  stuttering 
or  stammering  by  the  removal  of  the  tonsils.  The 
operation,  beneficial  as  it  may  be  in  other  ways, 


50  STAMMERING 

does  not  prevent  the  child  from  stammering — for 
the  operation  does  not  remove  the  cause  of  the 
stammering — that  cause  is  mental,  not  physical. 


CHAPTER  VII 

THE   BENEFIT   OF   MANY   FAILURES 

I  HAD  now  tried  upwards  of  fifteen  different 
methods  for  the  cure  of  my  stammering.  I 
had  tried  the  physician;  the  surgeon;  the  elocu- 
tion teacher;  the  hypnotic  specialist;  the  osteo- 
path; a  clairvoyant;  a  mail-order  scheme;  the 
world's  greatest  speech  specialist — so-called,  and 
several  other  things.  My  parents  had  spent  hun- 
dreds of  dollars  of  money  trying  to  have  me 
cured.  They  had  spared  no  effort,  stopped  at  no 
cost.  And  yet  I  now  stammered  worse  than  I 
had  ever  stammered  before.  Everything  I  had 
tried  had  heen  a  worthless  failure.  Nothing  had 
been  of  the  least  permanent  good  to  me.  My 
money  was  gone,  months  of  time  had  been  wasted 
and  I  now  began  to  wonder  if  I  had  not  been 
very  foolish  indeed,  in  going  to  first  one  man  and 
then  another,  trying  to  be  cured.  "Wouldn't  it 
have  been  better,"  I  asked,  "if  I  had  resigned 
myself  to  a  life  as  a  stammerer  and  let  it  go  at 
that?" 

My  father  before  me  stammered.    So  did  my 
grandfather  and  no  less  than  fourteen  of  my 


52  STAMMERING 

blood  relations.  My  affliction  was  inherited  and 
therefore  supposedly  incurable.  At  least  so  I 
was  told  by  honest  physicians  and  other  scientific 
observers  who  believed  what  they  said  and  who 
had  no  desire  to  make  any  personal  gain  by 
trafficking  in  my  infirmity.  These  men  told  me 
frankly  that  their  skill  and  knowledge  held  out 
no  hope  for  me  and  advised  me  from  the  very 
beginning  to  save  my  money  and  avoid  the  pit- 
falls of  the  many  who  would  profess  to  be  able  to 
cure  me. 

But  I  had  disregarded  this  honest  advice,  sin- 
cerely given,  had  spent  my  money  and  my  time — 
and  what  had  I  gotten?  Would  I  not  have  been 
better  off  if  I  had  listened  to  the  advice  and 
stayed  at  home?  Everything  seemed  to  answer 
"Yes,"  but  down  in  my  heart  I  felt  that  things 
were  better  as  they  were.  Certainly  some  good 
must  come  of  all  this  effort — surely  it  could  not 
all  be  wasted. 

"But  yet,"  I  argued  with  myself,  "what  good 
can  come  of  it?"  Stammering  was  fast  ruining 
my  life.  It  had  already  taken  the  joy  out  of  my 
childhood  and  had  made  school  a  task  almost  too 
heavy  to  be  undertaken.  It  had  marked  my  youth 
with  a  somber  melancholy,  and  now  that  youth 


ITS   CAUSE   AND   CURE  58 

was  slipping  away  from  me  with  no  hope  that  the 
future  held  anything  better  for  me  than  the  past. 
Something  had  to  be  done.  I  was  overpowered 
by  that  thought — something  had  to  be  done.  It 
had  to  be  done  at  once.  I  had  come  to  the  turn- 
ing point  in  my  life.  Like  Hamlet,  I  found  my- 
self repeating  over  and  over  again, 

"To  be  or  not  to  be, 
That  is  the  question'' 

Was  I  discouraged?  No,  I  will  not  admit  that 
I  was  discouraged,  but  I  was  pretty  nearly  re- 
signed to  a  life  without  fluent  speech,  nearly  con- 
vinced that  future  efforts  to  find  a  cure  for  stam- 
mering would  be  fruitless  and  bring  no  better 
results. 

It  was  about  this  time  that  I  stepped  into  the 
office  of  my  cousin,  then  a  successful  lawyer  and 
district  attorney  of  his  city,  later  the  first  vice- 
president  of  one  of  the  great  American  railroads 
with  headquarters  in  New  York,  and  now  retired. 
He  was  one  of  those  men  in  whose  vocabulary 
there  is  no  such  word  as  "fail."  After  I  had 
talked  with  him  for  quite  a  while,  he  looked  at  me, 
and  with  his  kindly,  almost  fatherly  smile  asked, 
"Why  don't  you  cure  yourself?" 


54  STAMMERING 

"Cure  myself?"  I  queried.  "How  do  you  ex- 
pect me,  a  young  man  with  no  scientific  training, 
to  cure  myself,  when  the  learned  doctors,  sur- 
geons and  scientists  of  the  country  have  given  me 
up  as  incurable?" 

"That  doesn't  make  any  difference,"  he  re- 
plied, "  'while  there  is  life,  there  is  hope*  and  it's 
a  sure  thing  that  nobody  ever  accomplished  any- 
thing worth  while  by  accepting  the  failures  of 
others  as  proof  that  the  thing  couldn't  be  done. 
Whitney  would  never  have  invented  the  cotton 
gin  if  he  had  accepted  the  failures  of  others  as 
final.  Columbus  picked  out  a  road  to  America 
and  assured  the  skeptics  that  there  was  no  danger 
of  his  sailing  'over  the  edge.'  Of  course,  it  had 
never  been  done  before,  but  then  Columbus  went 
ahead  and  did  it  himself.  He  didn't  take  some- 
body else's  failure  as  an  indication  of  what  he 
could  do.  If  he  had,  a  couple  of  hundred  years 
later,  somebody  else  would  have  discovered  it  and 
put  Columbus  in  the  class  with  the  rest  of  the 
weak-kneed  who  said  it  couldn't  be  done,  just 
because  it  never  had  been  done. 

"The  progress  of  this  country,  Ben,"  continued 
my  cousin,  "is  founded  on  the  determination  of 
men  who  refuse  to  accept  the  failures  of  others 


ITS   CAUSE   AND    CURE  55 

as  proof  that  things  can't  be  done  at  all.  Now 
you've  got  a  mighty  good  start.  You've  found 
out  all  about  these  other  methods — you  know  that 
they  have  failed — and  in  a  lot  of  cases,  you  know 
WHY  they  have  failed.  Now,  why  don*  t  you 
begin  where  they  have  left  off  and  find  out  how  to 
succeed?" 

The  thought  struck  me  like  a  bolt  from  a  clear 
sky:  "BEGIN  WHEEE  THE  OTHERS  LEAVE  OFF  AND 
FIND  OUT  HOW  TO  SUCCEED!"  I  kept  saying  it 
over  and  over  to  myself,  "Begin  where  the  others 
leave  off — begin  where  the  others  leave  off  I" 

This  thought  put  high  hope  in  my  heart.  It 
seemed  to  ring  like  a  call  from  afar.  "Begin 
where  the  others  leave  off  and  find  out  how  to 
succeed."  I  kept  thinking  about  that  all  the  way 
home.  I  thought  of  it  at  the  table  that  evening. 
I  said  nothing.  I  went  to  bed — but  I  didn't  go 
to  sleep,  for  singing  through  my  brain  was  that 
sentence,  "Begin  where  the  others  leave  off  and 
find  out  how  to  succeed!" 

Right  then  and  there  I  made  the  resolve  that 
resulted  in  my  curing  myself.  "I  WILL  do  it,"  I 
said,  "I  will  begin  where  the  others  leave  off — 
and  I  WILL  SUCCEED  ! !"  Then  and  there  I  deter- 
mined to  master  the  principles  of  speech,  to  chart 


56  STAMMERING 

the  methods  that  had  been  used  by  others,  to  find 
their  defects,  to  locate  the  cause  of  stammering, 
to  find  out  how  to  remove  that  cause  and  remove 
it  from  myself,  so  that  I,  like  the  others  whom  I 
so  envied,  could  talk  freely  and  fluently. 

That  resolution — that  determination  which 
first  fired  me  that  evening  never  left  me.  It 
marked  the  turning  point  in  my  whole  life.  I 
was  no  longer  dependent  upon  others,  no  longer 
looking  to  physicians  or  elocution  teachers  or 
hypnotists  to  cure  me  of  stammering.  I  was 
looking  to  myself.  If  I  was  to  be  cured,  then  I 
must  be  the  one  to  do  it.  This  responsibility 
sobered  me.  It  intensified  my  determination.  It 
emphasized  in  my  own  mind  the  need  for  per- 
sistent effort,  for  a  constant  striving  toward  this 
one  thing.  And  absorbed  with  this  idea,  living 
and  working  toward  this  one  end,  I  began  my 
work. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

BEGINNING  WHERE  OTHEBS  HAD  LEFT  OFF 

FROM  the  moment  that  my  resolution  took 
shape,  my  plans  were  all  laid  with  one  thing 
in  mind — to  cure  myself  of  stammering.  I  de- 
termined, first  of  all,  to  master  the  principles 
of  speech.  I  remembered  very  well,  indeed,  the 
admonition  of  Prof.  J.  J.  Mills,  President  of 
Earlham  College,  on  the  day  I  left  the  institu- 
tion. "You  have  been  a  hard-working  student," 
he  said,  "but  your  success  will  never  be  complete 
until  you  learn  to  talk  as  others  talk.  Cure  your 
stammering  at  any  cost."  That  was  the  thing  I 
had  determined  to  do.  And  having  determined 
upon  that  course,  I  resolved  to  let  nothing  swerve 
me  from  it. 

I  began  the  study  of  anatomy.  I  studied  the 
lungs,  the  throat,  the  brain — nothing  escaped  me. 
I  pursued  my  studies  with  the  avidity  of  the 
medical  student  wrapped  up  in  his  work.  I  read 
all  the  books  that  had  been  published  on  the  sub- 
ject of  stammering.  I  sought  eagerly  for  trans- 
lations of  foreign  books  on  the  subject.  I  lived 


58  STAMMERING 

in  the  libraries.  I  studied  late  at  night  and  arose 
early  in  the  morning,  that  I  might  he  at  my 
work  again.  It  absorbed  me.  I  thought  of  the 
subject  by  day  and  dreamed  of  it  by  night.  It 
was  never  out  of  my  mind.  I  was  living  it, 
breathing  it,  eating  it.  I  had  not  thought  myself 
capable  of  such  concentration  as  I  was  putting  in 
on  the  pursuit  of  the  truth  as  regards  stammering 
and  its  cure. 

With  the  knowledge  that  I  had  gained  from 
celebrated  physicians,  specialists  and  institutions 
throughout  this  country  and  Europe,  I  extended 
my  experiments  and  investigation.  I  had  an  ex- 
cellent subject  on  which  to  experiment — myself. 
Progress  was  slow  at  first — so  slow,  in  fact,  that 
I  did  not  realize  until  later  that  it  was  progress  at 
all.  Nothing  but  my  past  misery,  backed  up 
by  my  present  determination  to  be  free  from  the 
impediment  that  hampered  me  at  every  turn, 
could  have  kept  me  from  giving  up.  But  at  last, 
after  years  of  effort,  after  long  nights  of  study 
and  days  of  research,  I  was  rewarded  by  success 
— I  found  and  perfected  a  method  of  control  of 
the  articulatory  organs  as  well  as  of  the  brain 
centers  controlling  the  organs  of  speech.  I  had 
learned  the  cause  of  stammering  and  stuttering. 


ITS   CAUSE   AND    CUBE  59 

All  of  the  mystery  with  which  the  subject  had 
been  surrounded  by  so-called  specialists,  fell 
away.  In  all  its  clearness,  I  saw  the  truth.  I 
saw  how  the  others,  who  had  failed  in  my  case, 
had  failed  because  of  ignorance.  I  saw  that  they 
had  been  treating  effects,  not  causes.  I  saw 
exactly  why  their  methods  had  not  succeeded  and 
could  never  succeed. 

In  truth  I  had  begun  where  the  others  left  of 
and  won  success.  The  reader  can  imagine  what 
this  meant  to  me.  It  meant  that  at  last  I  could 
speak — clearly,  distinctly,  freely,  and  fluently, 
without  those  facial  contortions  that  had  made 
me  an  object  of  ridicule  wherever  I  went.  It 
meant  that  I  could  take  my  place  in  life,  a  man 
among  men;  that  I  could  look  the  whole  world 
in  the  face;  that  I  could  live  and  enjoy  life  as 
other  normal  persons  lived  and  enjoyed  it. 

At  first  my  friends  could  not  believe  that  my 
cure  was  permanent.  Even  my  mother  doubted 
the  evidence  of  her  own  ears.  But  I  knew  the 
trouble  would  not  come  back,  for  the  old  fear  was 
gone,  the  nervousness  soon  passed  away,  and  a 
new  feeling  of  confidence  and  self-reliance  took 
hold  of  me,  with  the  result  that  in  a  few  weeks  I 
was  a  changed  man.  People  who  had  formerly 


60  STAMMEEING 

avoided  me  because  of  my  infirmity  began  to 
greet  me  with  new  interest.  Gradually  the  old 
affliction  was  forgotten  by  those  with  whom  I 
came  into  daily  contact  and  by  many  I  was 
thought  of  as  a  man  who  had  never  stammered. 
Even  today,  those  who  knew  me  when  I  stam- 
mered so  badly  I  could  hardly  talk,  are  hardly 
able  to  believe  that  I  am  the  same  person  who 
used  to  be  known  as  "BEN  BOGUE'S  BOY  WHO 
STUTTERS." 

For  today  I  can  talk  as  freely  and  fluently  as 
anybody.  I  do  not  hesitate  in  the  least.  For 
years,  I  have  not  even  known  what  it  is  to  grope 
mentally  for  a  word.  I  speak  in  public  as  well 
as  in  private  conversation.  I  have  no  difficulty 
in  talking  over  the  telephone  and  in  fact  do  not 
know  the  difference.  In  my  work,  I  lecture  to 
students  and  am  invited  to  address  scientific 
bodies,  societies  and  educational  gatherings,  all 
of  which  I  can  accomplish  without  the  slightest 
difficulty. 

Today,  I  can  say  with  Terence,  "I  am  a  man 
and  nothing  that  is  human  is  alien  to  me."  And 
I  can  go  a  step  further  and  say  to  those  who  are 
afflicted  as  I  was  afflicted:  "I  have  been  a  stam- 
merer. I  know  your  troubles,  your  sorrows,  your 


ITS   CAUSE   AND   CURE  61 

discouragements.     I  understand  with  an  under- 
standing born  of  a  costly  experience." 

Man  or  woman,  boy  or  girl,  wherever  you  are, 
my  heart  goes  out  to  you.  Whatever  your  sta- 
tion in  life,  rich  or  poor,  educated  or  unlettered, 
discouraged  and  hopeless,  or  determined  and  res- 
olute, I  send  you  a  message  of  hope,  a  message 
which,  in  the  words  of  Dr.  Russell  R.  Conwell, 
"has  been  affirmed  and  reaffirmed  in  the  thou- 
sands of  lives  I  have  been  privileged  to  watch. 
And  the  message  is  this:  Neither  heredity  nor 
environment  nor  any  obstacles  superimposed  by 
man  can  keep  you  from  marching  straight 
through  to  a  cure,  provided  you  are  guided  by  a 
firm  driving  determination  and  have  normal 
health  and  intelligence."  To  that  end  I  commend 
to  you  the  succeeding  pages  of  this  volume,  where 
you  will  find  in  plain  and  simple  language  the 
things  which  I  have  spent  more  than  thirty  years 
in  learning.  May  these  pages  open  for  you  the 
door  to  freedom  of  speech — as  they  have  opened 
it  for  hundreds  before  vou. 


PART  II 

STAMMERING  AND  STUTTERING 

The  Causes,  Peculiarities,  Ten- 
dencies and  Effects 


SPEECH  DISORDERS  DEFINED 

IN  the  diagnosis  of  speech  disorders,  there  are 
almost  as  many  different  forms  of  defective 
utterance  as  there  are  cases,  all  of  which  forms, 
however,  divide  themselves  into  a  few  basic  types. 
These  various  disorders  might  be  broadly  classi- 
fied into  three  classes: 

(1) — Those  resulting  from  carelessness  in 
learning  to  speak; 

(2) — Those  which  are  of  distinct  mental 
form ;  and 

(3) — Those  caused  by  a  physical  deformity 
in  the  organs  of  speech  themselves. 

Regardless  of  under  which  of  these  three  heads  a 


ITS   CAUSE   AND   CUBE  63 

speech  disorder  may  come,  it  is  commonly  spoken 
of  by  the  laymen  as  a  "speech  impediment"  or 
"a  stoppage  in  speech"  notwithstanding  the  fact 
that  the  characteristics  of  the  various  disorders 
are  quite  dissimilar.  In  certain  of  the  disorders, 

(a) — There  is  an  inability  to  release  a  word; 
in  others, 

(b) — A  tendency  to  repeat  a  syllable  sev- 
eral times  before  the  following 
syllable  can  be  uttered ;  in  others, 

(c) — The  tendency  to  substitute  an  incor- 
rect sound  for  the  correct  one ;  while 
in  others, 

(d) — The  utterance  is  defective  merely  in 
the  imperfect  enunciation  of  sounds 
and  syllables  due  to  some  organic 
defect,  or  to  carelessness  in  learning 
to  speak. 

While  this  volume  has  but  little  to  do  with  speech 
disorders  other  than  stammering  and  stuttering, 
the  characteristics  of  the  more  common  forms  of 
speech  impediment — lisping,  cluttering  and  hesi- 
tation, as  well  as  stuttering  and  stammering — 
will  be  discussed  in  this  first  chapter,  in  order 


64  STAMMEEING 

that  the  reader  may  be  able,  in  a  general  way  at 
least,  to  differentiate  between  the  various  dis- 
orders. 

LISPING 

This  is  a  very  common  form  of  speech  disorder 
and  one  which  manifests  itself  early  in  the  life  of 
the  child.  Lisping  may  be  divided  into  three 
forms : 

( 1 )  — Negligent  Lisping 
(2) — Neurotic  Lisping 
( 3 )  — Organic  Lisping 

Negligent  Lisping:  This  is  a  form  of  defective 
enunciation  caused  in  most  cases  by  parental 
neglect  or  the  carelessness  of  the  child  himself  in 
the  pronunciation  of  words  during  the  first  few 
months  of  talking.  This  defective  pronunciation 
in  Negligent  Lisping  is  caused  either  by  a  failure 
or  an  inability  to  observe  others  who  speak  cor- 
rectly. We  learn  to  speak  by  imitation,  and  fail- 
ing to  observe  the  correct  method  of  speaking  in 
others,  we  naturally  fail  to  speak  correctly  our- 
selves. In  Negligent  Lisping,  this  inability  prop- 
erly to  imitate  correct  speech  processes,  results 


ITS   CAUSE   AND   CURE  65 

in  the  substitution  of  an  incorrect  sound  for  the 
correct  one  with  consequent  faulty  formation  of 
words. 

Organic  Lisping:  This  results  from  an  or- 
ganic or  physical  defect  in  the  vocal  organs,  such 
as  hare-lip,  feeble  lip,  malformation  of  the 
tongue,  defective  teeth,  overshot  or  undershot 
jaw,  high  palatal  arch,  cleft  palate,  defective 
palate,  relaxed  palate  following  an  operation  for 
adenoids,  obstructed  nasal  passages  or  defective 
hearing. 

Neurotic  Lisping:  This  is  a  form  of  speech 
marked  by  short,  rapid  muscular  contractions  in- 
stead of  the  smooth  and  easy  action  used  in  pro- 
ducing normal  sounds.  Neurotic  Lisping  is  often 
found  to  be  combined  with  stammering  or  stut- 
tering, which  is  quite  logical,  since  it  is  similar, 
both  as  to  cause  and  as  to  the  presence  of  a  men- 
tal disturbance.  In  Neurotic  Lisping,  the  mus- 
cular movements  are  less  spasmodic  than  in  cases 
of  stuttering,  partaking  more  of  the  cramped 
sticking  movement,  common  in  stammering. 

STUTTERING 

Stuttering  may  be  generally  defined  as  the 
repetition — rapid  in  some  cases,  slow  in  others — 


66  STAMMERING 

of  a  word  or  a  syllable,  before  the  following  word 
or  syllable  can  be  uttered.  Stuttering  may  take 
several  forms,  any  one  of  which  will  fall  into  one 
of  four  phases : 

( 1 )  — Simple  Phase 
(2) — Advanced  Phase 
(3)— Mental  Phase 
(4) — Compound  Phase 

Simple  stuttering  can  be  said  to  be  a  purely 
physical  form  of  the  difficulty.  The  Advanced 
Phase  marks  the  stage  of  further  progress  where 
the  trouble  passes  from  the  purely  physical  state 
into  a  condition  that  may  be  known  as  Mental- 
Physical.  The  distinctly  Mental  Phase  is  marked 
by  symptoms  indicating  a  mental  cause  for  the 
trouble,  the  disorder  usually  having  passed  into 
this  form  from  the  simple  or  advanced  stages  of 
the  malady.  Stuttering  may  be  combined  with 
stammering  in  which  case  the  condition  repre- 
sents the  Compound  Phase  of  the  trouble. 

Choreatic  Stuttering:  This  originates  in  an  at- 
tack of  Acute  Chorea  or  St.  Vitus  Dance,  which 
leaves  the  sufferer  in  a  condition  where  involun- 
tary and  spasmodic  muscular  contractions,  espe- 


ITS   CAUSE  AND   CUBE  67 

cially  of  the  face,  have  become  an  established 
habit.  This  breaks  up  the  speech  in  a  manner 
somewhat  similar  to  ordinary  stuttering.  Also 
known  as  "Tic  Speech." 

Spastic  Speech:  This  is  often  the  result  of  in- 
fantile cerebral  palsy,  the  characteristic  symptom 
of  the  trouble  being  intense  over-exertion,  con- 
tinued throughout  a  sentence,  the  syllables  being 
equal  in  length  and  very  laboriously  enunciated. 
In  spastic  speech,  there  is  present  a  noticeable 
hyper-tonicity  of  the  nerve  fibers  actuating  the 
muscles  used  in  speaking  as  well  as  marked  con- 
tractions of  the  facial  muscles. 

Unconscious  Stuttering:  This  is  a  misnomer 
because  there  can  be  no  such  thing  as  unconscious 
stuttering.  It  appears  that  the  person  afflicted 
is  not  conscious  of  his  difficulty  for  he  insists  that 
he  does  not  s-s-s-s-tut-tut-tut-ter.  Unconscious 
Stuttering  is  but  a  name  for  the  disorder  of  a 
stutterer  who  is  too  stubborn  to  admit  his  own 
difficulty. 

Thought  Stuttering:  This  is  an  advanced  form 
of  stuttering  which  is  also  known  as  Aphasia  and 


68  STAMMERING 

which  is  caused  by  the  inability  of  the  sufferer  to 
recall  the  mental  images  necessary  to  the  forma- 
tion of  a  word.  Stuttering  in  its  simpler  forms 
is  usually  connected  with  the  period  of  childhood, 
while  aphasia  is  often  connected  with  old  age  or 
injury.  The  aphasic  person  is  excessively  nerv- 
ous as  is  the  stutterer;  he  undergoes  the  same 
anxiety  to  get  his  words  out  and  the  same  fear  of 
being  ridiculous.  In  aphasia  there  is,  however, 
no  excessive  muscular  tension  or  cramp  of  the 
speech  muscles.  In  these  cases,  the  stutterer  will 
sometimes  repeat  the  first  syllable  ten  or  fifteen 
times  with  pauses  between,  being  for  a  time  un- 
able to  recall  what  the  second  syllable  is.  It  is, 
in  other  words,  a  habitual,  but  nevertheless  tem- 
porary, inability  to  recall  to  mind  the  mental 
images  necessary  to  produce  the  word  or  syllable 
desired  to  be  spoken.  This  condition  is  more 
commonly  known  as  Thought  Lapse  or  the  in- 
ability to  think  of  what  you  desire  to  say. 

One  investigator  shows  that  the  diagnosis  of 
"insanity"  with  later  commitment  to  an  asylum 
occurred  in  the  case  of  a  bad  stutterer.  When 
excited  he  would  go  through  the  most  extreme 
contortions  and  the  wildest  gesticulations  in  a 
vain  attempt  to  finally  get  all  of  the  word  out, 


ITS   CAUSE  AND    CURE  69 

finally  pacing  up  and  down  the  room  like  one 
truly  insane.  This  tendency  to  believe  that  the 
stutterer  is  insane  because  of  the  convulsive  or 
spasmodic  effort  accompanying  his  efforts  to 
speak,  is  a  mistaken  one,  although  there  can  be 
little  doubt  of  the  tendency  of  this  condition 
finally  to  lead  to  insanity  if  not  checked. 

HESITATION 

Hesitation  is  marked  by  a  silent,  choking 
effort,  often  accompanied  by  a  fruitless  opening 
and  closing  of  the  mouth.  Hesitation  is  a  stage 
through  which  the  sufferer  usually  passes  before 
he  reaches  the  condition  known  as  Elementary 
Stammering. 

STAMMERING 

Stammering  is  a  condition  in  which  the  person 
afflicted  is  unable  to  begin  a  word  or  a  sentence 
no  matter  how  much  effort  may  be  directed 
toward  the  attempt  to  speak,  or  how  well  they 
may  know  what  they  wish  to  say.  In  stammer- 
ing, there  is  the  "sticking"  as  the  stammerer  terms 
it,  or  the  inability  to  express  a  sound.  The  dif- 
ference between  stammering  and  stuttering  lies 
in  the  fact  that  in  stuttering,  the  disorder  mani- 
fests itself  in  loose  and  hurried  (or  in  some  cases, 


70  STAMMERING 

slow)  repetitions  of  sounds,  syllables  or  words, 
while  in  the  case  of  stammering,  the  manifesta- 
tion takes  the  form  of  an  inability  to  express  a 
sound,  or  to  begin  a  word  or  a  sentence. 

Elementary  Stammering:  This  is  the  simplest 
form  of  this  disorder.  Here,  the  convulsive  effort 
is  not  especially  noticeable  and  the  marked  results 
of  long-continued  stammering  are  not  apparent. 
Most  cases  pass  quickly  from  the  elementary 
stage  unless  checked  in  their  incipiency. 

Spasmodic  Stammering:  This  marks  the  stage 
of  the  disorder  where  the  effort  to  speak  brings 
about  marked  muscular  contractions  and  pro- 
nounced spasmodic  efforts,  resulting  in  all  sorts 
of  facial  contortions,  grimaces  and  uncontrolled 
jer kings  of  the  head,  body  and  limbs. 

Thought  Stammering:  This,  like  Thought- 
Stuttering,  is  a  form  of  Aphasia  and  manifests 
itself  in  the  inability  of  the  stammerer  to  think 
of  what  he  wishes  to  say.  In  other  words,  the 
thought-stammerer,  like  the  thought-stutterer,  is 
unable  to  recall  the  mental  images  necessary  to 
the  production  of  a  certain  word  or  sound — and 
is,  therefore,  unable  to  produce  sounds  correctly. 


ITS   CAUSE   AND   CURE  71 

The  manifestations  described  under  Thought 
Stuttering  are  present  in  Thought  Stammering 
also. 

Combined  Stammering  and  Stuttering:  This 
is  a  compound  form  of  difficulty  in  which  the  suf- 
ferer finds  himself  at  times  not  only  unable  to 
utter  a  sound  or  begin  a  word  or  a  sentence  but 
also  is  found  to  repeat  a  sound  or  syllable  several 
times  before  the  following  syllable  can  be  uttered. 
Any  case  of  stuttering  or  stammering  in  the  Sim- 
ple or  Elementary  Stages  may  pass  into  Com- 
bined Stammering  and  Stuttering  without  warn- 
ing or  without  the  knowledge,  even,  of  the  stam- 
merer or  stutterer. 


CHAPTER  II 

THE  CAUSES  OF  STUTTERING  ANB 
STAMMERING 

ONE  of  the  first  questions  asked  by  the  stut- 
terer or  stammerer  is,  "What  is  the  cause 
of  my  trouble?"  In  asking  this  question,  the 
stammerer  is  getting  at  the  very  essence  of  the 
successful  method  of  treatment  of  his  malady,  for 
there  is  no  method  of  curing  stuttering,  stammer- 
ing and  kindred  defects  of  speech  that  can  bring 
real  and  permanent  relief  from  the  affliction 
unless  it  attacks  the  cause  of  the  trouble  and 
removes  that  cause. 

Inasmuch  as  this  book  has  to  do  almost  entirely 
with  the  two  defective  forms  of  utterance  known 
as  stuttering  and  stammering,  we  will  at  this  time 
drop  all  reference  to  the  other  forms  of  speech 
impediments  and  from  this  time  forth  refer  only 
to  stuttering  and  stammering. 

These  forms  of  defective  speech  are  manifested 
by  the  inability  to  express  words  in  the  normal, 
natural  manner — freely  and  fluently.  In  other 
words,  there  is  a  marked  departure  from  the 


ITS   CAUSE   AND   CURE  73 

normal  in  the  methods  used  by  the  stammerer  in 
the  production  of  speech.  It  is  necessary,  there- 
fore, before  taking  up  the  discussion  of  the  causes 
of  stuttering  and  stammering,  to  determine  the 
method  by  which  voice  is  produced  in  the  normal 
individual,  so  that  we  can  compare  this  normal 
production  of  speech  with  the  faulty  method 
adopted  by  the  stutterer  or  stammerer  and  learn 
where  the  fault  is  and  what  is  the  cause  of  it. 

Let  us  now  proceed  to  do  this :  In  other  words, 
let  us  ask  the  question:  "How  is  speech  produced 
in  the  normal  person  not  afflicted  with  defective 
utterance?" 

Voice  is  produced  by  the  vocal  organs  much  in 
the  same  manner  as  sounds  are  produced  on  a 
saxophone  or  clarinet,  by  forcing  a  current  of  air 
through  an  aperture  over  which  is  a  reed  which 
vibrates  with  the  sounds.  The  low  tones  pro- 
duced by  the  saxophone  or  clarinet  result  from 
the  enlargement  of  the  aperture,  while  the  higher 
tones  are  produced  by  contracting  the  opening. 
Variations  of  pitch  in  the  human  voice  are  also 
effected  by  elongation  and  contraction  of  the 
vocal  cords  with  comparative  slackness  or  tension, 
as  in  the  violin. 

It  would  be  of  no  value,  and,  in  fact,  would 


74  STAMMEEING 

only  serve  to  confuse  the  layman,  to  know  the 
duties  or  functions  of  the  various  organs  or  parts 
entering  into  the  production  of  speech.  Suffice 
it  to  say  that  in  the  "manufacture"  of  words, 
there  are  concerned  the  glottis,  the  larynx,  tho- 
rax, diaphragm,  lungs,  soft  palate,  tongue,  teeth 
and  lips.  In  the  production  of  the  sounds  and 
the  combination  of  sounds  that  we  call  words, 
each  of  these  organs  of  speech  has  its  own  par- 
ticular duty  to  perform  and  the  failure  of  any  one 
of  these  organs  properly  to  perform  that  duty 
may  result  in  defective  utterance  of  some  form. 

Brain  Control:  It  must  be  borne  in  mind  that 
for  any  one  or  all  of  the  organs  of  speech  to 
become  operative  or  to  manifest  any  action,  they 
must  be  innervated  or  activated  by  impulses  orig- 
inating in  the  brain. 

For  instance,  if  it  is  necessary  that  the  glottis 
be  contracted  to  a  point  which  we  will  call  "half- 
open"  for  the  production  of  a  certain  sound,  the 
brain  must  first  send  a  message  to  that  organ 
before  the  necessary  movement  can  take  place. 
In  saying  the  word  "you,"  for  instance,  it  would 
be  necessary  for  the  tongue  to  press  tip  against 
the  base  of  the  lower  row  of  front  teeth.  But 


ITS   CAUSE   AND   CURE  75 

before  the  tongue  can  assume  that  position,  it  is 
necessary  that  the  brain  send  to  the  tongue  a 
message  directing  what  is  to  be  done. 

When  the  number  of  different  organs  involved 
in  the  production  of  the  simplest  word  of  one 
syllable  is  considered  (such  as  the  word  "you" 
just  mentioned),  and  when  it  is  further  consid- 
ered that  separate  brain  messages  must  be  sent 
to  each  of  the  organs,  muscles  or  parts  concerned 
in  the  production  of  that  word,  then  it  will  be 
understood  that  the  process  of  speaking  is  a 
most  complicated  one,  involving  not  only  numer- 
ous physical  organs  but  also  intricate  mental 
processes. 

When  all  of  the  organs  concerned  in  the  pro- 
duction of  speech  are  working  properly  and  when 
the  brain  sends  prompt  and  correct  brain  im- 
pulses to  them,  the  result  is  perfect  speech,  the 
free,  fluent  and  easy  conversation  of  the  good 
talker.  But  when  any  or  all  of  these  organs  fail 
to  function  properly,  due  to  inco-ordination,  the 
result  is  discord — and  defective  utterance. 

Cause  of  Defective  Utterance:  Now,  let  us 
consider  the  cause  of  defective  utterance.  What 
is  it  that  causes  the  organ,  muscle  or  parts  to  fail 


76  STAMMERING 

properly  to  function?  The  first  and  most  obvi- 
ous conclusion  would  be  that  there  was  some 
inherent  defect  in  the  organ,  muscle  or  part  which 
failed  to  function.  But  experience  has  proved 
that  this  is  usually  not  the  case.  An  examination 
of  two  thousand  cases  of  defective  utterance, 
including  many  others  besides  stuttering  and 
stammering,  revealed  three-tenths  of  one  per 
cent,  with  an  organic  defect — that  is,  a  defect  in 
the  organs  themselves.  In  other  words,  only 
three  persons  out  of  every  thousand  afflicted  with 
defective  utterance  were  found  to  have  any  phys- 
ical shortcoming  that  was  responsible  for  the 
affliction. 

Take  any  of  these  two  thousand  cases — say 
those  that  stammered,  for  instance.  What  was 
the  cause  of  their  difficulty,  if  it  did  not  lie  in  the 
organs  used  in  the  production  of  speech?  This 
is  the  question  that  long  puzzled  investigators  in 
the  field  of  speech  defects.  Like  Darwin,  they 
said:  "It  must  be  this,  for  if  it  is  not  this,  then 
what  is  it?"  If  stuttering  and  stammering  are  not 
caused  by  actual  physical  defects  in  the  organs 
themselves,  what  then  can  be  the  cause? 

Due  to  a  Lack  of  Co-ordination:  Cases  of 
stammering  and  stuttering  where  no  organic 


ITS   CAUSE  AND   CUKE  77 

defect  is  present  are  due  to  a  lack  of  co-ordination 
between  the  brain  and  the  muscles  of  speech.  In 
other  words,  the  harmony  between  the  brain  and 
the  speech  organs  which  normally  result  in 
smooth  working  and  perfect  speech  has  been 
interrupted.  The  brain  impulses  are  no  longer 
properly  transmitted  to  and  executed  by  the 
muscles  of  speech. 

This  failure  to  transmit  properly  brain  mes- 
sages or  this  lack  of  co-ordination  may  take  one 
of  two  forms :  it  may  result  in  an  iwder-mnerva- 
tion  of  the  organs  of  speech,  which  results  in 
loose,  uncontrolled  repetitions  of  a  word,  sound 
or  syllable,  or  it  may  take  the  form  of  an  over- 
innervation  of  the  vocal  organ  with  the  result 
that  it  is  so  intensely  contracted  as  to  be  entirely 
closed,  causing  the  "sticking"  or  inability  to  pro- 
nounce even  a  sound,  so  common  to  the  stam- 
merer. 

Suppose  that  you  try  to  say  the  word  "tray." 
Do  not  articulate  the  sounds.  Merely  make  the 
initial  effort  to  say  it.  What  happens?  Simply 
this :  The  tip  of  the  tongue  comes  in  contact  with 
the  upper  front  teeth  at  their  base  and  as  you 
progress  in  your  attempt  to  say  "t,"  the  tongue 
flattens  itself  against  the  roof  of  the  mouth,  mov- 


78  STAMMERING 

ing  from  the  tip  of  the  tongue  toward  its  base 
If  you  are  a  stammerer,  you  will  probably  find  in 
endeavoring  to  say  this  word,  that  your  vocal 
organs  fail  to  respond  quickly  and  correctly  to 
the  set  of  brain  messages  which  should  result  in 
the  proper  enunciation  of  the  word  "tray."  Your 
tongue  clings  to  the  roof  of  your  mouth,  your 
mouth  remains  open,  you  suffer  a  rush  of  blood 
to  the  face,  due  to  your  powerful  and  unsuccess- 
ful effort  to  articulate,  and  the  word  refuses  to  be 
spoken. 

Now,  in  order  to  dissociate  "lack  of  co-ordi- 
nation," from  stammering  and  to  get  an  idea  of 
its  real  nature,  let  us  imagine  an  experiment 
which  can  be  conducted  by  any  one,  whether  they 
stammer  or  not. 

You  see  on  the  table  before  you  a  pencil.  You 
want  to  write  and  consequently  you  want  to  pick 
up  the  pencil.  Therefore,  your  brain  sends  a 
message  to  your  thumb  and  forefinger,  saying, 
"Pick  up  the  pencil."  Your  brain  does  not,  of 
course,  express  that  command  in  words,  but  sends 
a  brain  impulse  based  upon  the  kinaesthetic  or 
motor  image  of  the  muscular  action  necessary  to 
accomplish  that  act.  But  for  our  purpose  in  this 


ITS   CAUSE   AND   CURE  79 

experiment,  we  can  assume  that  the  brain  sends 
the  message  in  terms  which,  if  interpreted  in 
words,  would  be  "pick  up  the  pencil."  Suppose 
that  when  that  brain  message  reaches  your  thumb 
and  forefinger,  instead  of  reaching  for  the  pen- 
cil, they  immediately  close  and  clap  or  stick, 
refusing  to  act.  Your  hand  is  unable  to  pick  up 
the  pencil.  That,  then,  is  similar  to  stammering. 
The  hand  is  doing  practically  what  the  vocal 
organs  do  when  the  stammerer  attempts  to  speak 
and  fails.  But,  on  the  other  hand,  if,  when  the 
message  was  received  by  your  thumb  and  finger, 
it  made  short,  successive  attempts  to  pick  up  the 
pencil,  but  failed  to  accomplish  it,  then  you  could 
compare  that  failure  to  the  uncontrolled  repeti- 
tions of  stuttering.  This  inability  to  control  the 
action  of  the  thumb  and  forefinger  would  be  the 
result  of  a  lack  of  co-ordination  between  the 
brain  and  the  muscles  of  the  hand,  while  stutter- 
ing or  stammering  is  the  result  of  a  lack  of 
co-ordination  between  the  brain  and  the  muscles 
of  speech. 

What  Causes  Lack  of  Co-ordination:  But 
even  after  it  is  known  that  stuttering  and  stam- 
mering are  caused  by  a  lack  of  co-ordination 


80  STAMMERING 

between  the  brain  and  the  organs  of  speech,  still, 
the  mind  of  scientific  and  inquiring  trend  must 
ask,  "What  causes  the  lack  of  co-ordination?" 
And  that  question  is  quite  in  order.  It  is  plain 
that  the  lack  of  co-ordination  does  not  exist  with- 
out a  cause.  What,  then,  is  this  cause  ? 

An  inquiry  into  the  cause  of  the  inco-ordina- 
tion  between  brain  and  speech-organs  leads  us  to 
an  examination  of  the  original  or  basic  causes  of 
stammering.  These  original  or  basic  causes  in 
their  various  ramifications  are  almost  as  numer- 
ous as  the  cases  of  speech  disorders  themselves, 
but  they  fall  into  a  comparatively  few  well- 
defined  classes. 

These  original  causes  in  many  cases  do  not 
appear  to  have  been  the  direct  and  immediate 
cause  of  the  trouble,  but  rather  a  predisposing 
cause  or  a  cause  which  brought  about  a  condition 
that  later  developed  into  stuttering  or  stam- 
mering. 

Let  us  set  down  a  list  of  the  more  common  of 
these  causes,  not  with  the  expectation  of  having 
the  list  complete  but  rather  of  giving  facts  about 
the  representative  or  more  common  Basic  Predis- 
posing Causes  of  Stuttering  and  Stammering. 

A  little  more  than  96  per  cent,  of  the  causes  of 


ITS   CAUSE   AND   CURE  81 

stammering  which  the  author  has  examined  can 
be  traced  back  to  one  of  the  five  causes  shown 
below: 

1 — Mimicry  or  Imitation 
2 — Fright  or  severe  nerve  shock 
3 — Fall  or  injury  of  some  sort 
4 — Heredity 
5 — Disease 

Let  us  take  up  these  familiar  causes  of  stutter- 
ing or  stammering  in  the  order  in  which  we  have 
set  them  down  and  learn  something  more  of  them. 

The  first  and  one  of  the  most  common  causes  is 
Mimicry,  or,  as  it  is  probably  more  often  called, 
Imitation.  Mimicry  or  Imitation  is  almost  wholly 
confined  to  children.  After  reaching  the  age  of 
discretion,  the  adult  is  usually  of  sufficient  intel- 
ligence to  refrain  from  mimicking  or  imitating  a 
person  who  stutters  or  stammers. 

The  average  small  boy,  however,  (or  girl,  for 
that  matter)  seems  to  find  delight  in  mocking  and 
imitating  a  playmate  who  stutters  or  stammers, 
and  so  keen  is  this  delight  that  he  persists  in  this 
practice  day  after  day  until  (as  its  own  punish- 


82  STAMMERING 

ment)  the  practice  of  mockery  or  mimicry  brings 
upon  the  boy  himself  the  affliction  in  which  he 
found  his  fun. 

It  may  be  noted,  however,  that  Imitation  is  not 
always  conscious,  but  often  unconscious.  The 
small  child  begins  to  imitate  the  stuttering  com- 
panion without  knowing  that  he  engages  in  imita- 
tion. This  practice,  notwithstanding  the  fact  that 
it  is  unconscious,  soon  develops  into  stuttering, 
without  any  cause  being  assignable  by  the  parent 
until  investigation  develops  that  unconscious  and 
even  unnoticed  imitation  is  the  basic  cause  of  the 
defective  utterance. 

It  has  been  definitely  determined  that  stutter- 
ing may  be  communicable  through  contagious 
impressions,  especially  among  children  of  tender 
age  whose  minds  are  subject  to  the  slightest  im- 
pressions. 

For  this  reason,  it  is  not  advisable  for  parents 
to  allow  children  to  play  with  others  who  stutter 
or  stammer,  nor  is  it  charitable  to  allow  a  child 
who  stutters  or  stammers  to  play  with  other 
children  who  are  not  so  afflicted. 

So  far-reaching  are  the  effects  of  Imitation  or 
Mimicry  that  in  certain  cases,  children  have  been 
known  to  contract  stuttering  from  associating 


ITS   CAUSE   AND   CURE  83 

with  a  deaf-mute  whose  expressions  were  made 
chiefly  in  the  form  of  grunts  and  inarticulate 
sounds. 

Fright  or  Severe  Nerve  Shock:  Another  com- 
mon cause  of  stammering  is  fright  or  nervous 
shock,  which  may  have  been  brought  about  in 
countless  ways.  One  boy  who  came  to  me  some 
time  ago  stated  that  he  had  swallowed  a  nail  when 
about  six  years  of  age  and  that  this  was  the  cause 
of  his  stammering.  The  logical  conclusion  in  a 
case  like  this  would  be  that  the  nail  had  injured 
the  vocal  organs,  but  an  examination  proved  that 
there  was  no  organic  defect  and  that  the  stam- 
mering was  caused,  not  by  injury  directly  to  the 
vocal  organs  but  by  the  nervous  shock  occasioned 
by  swallowing  the  nail. 

Another  case  was  that  of  a  stammerer  who  re- 
ported that  he  had  been  given  carbolic  acid,  by 
mistake,  when  a  child  and  that  he  had  stammered 
ever  since.  This,  like  the  case  of  the  boy  who 
swallowed  the  nail,  might  be  expected  to  prove  a 
case  of  absolute  physical  injury  or  impairment  of 
the  vocal  chords,  but  once  again,  it  was  clear  that 
such  was  not  the  case  and  that  the  stammering 
was  brought  about  solely  from  the  nervous  shock 
which  came  as  a  result  of  taking  carbolic  acid. 

6 


84  STAMMERING 

There  is  still  another  case  of  a  boy  who  felt 
that  he  was  continually  being  followed.  This  was 
of  course  merely  a  hallucination,  but  the  fright 
that  this  boy's  state  of  mind  brought  on  soon 
caused  him  to  stutter  and  stammer  in  a  very 
pronounced  manner. 

Fright  is  a  prolific  cause  of  stuttering  in  small 
children  and  may  be  traced  in  a  great  many  cases 
to  parents  or  nurses  who  persist  in  telling  chil- 
dren stories  of  a  frightful  nature,  or  who,  as  a 
means  of  discipline,  scare  them  by  locking  them 
up  in  the  cellar,  the  closet  or  the  garret.  To  these 
scare-tales  told  to  children  should  be  added  the 
misguided  practice  of  telling  children  that  "the 
bogey-man  will  get  you"  or  "the  policeman  is 
after  you"  or  some  such  tale  to  enforce  parental 
commands.  An  instance  is  recalled  of  a  woman 
who  created  out  of  a  morbid  imagination  a  phan- 
tom of  terrible  mien,  who  abode  in  the  garret  and 
was  constantly  lying  in  wait  for  the  small  chil- 
dren of  the  household  with  the  professed  inten- 
tion of  "eating  them  alive." 

Such  disciplinary  methods  of  parents  savor 
much  of  the  Inquisition  and  the  Dark  Ages  and 
should,  for  the  good  of  the  children  and  the 


ITS   CAUSE  AND    CURE  85 

future  generation  they  represent,  be  totally  abol- 
ished. While  these  methods  do  not,  in  every  case, 
result  in  stuttering  or  stammering,  they  make  the 
child  of  a  nervous  disposition  and  lay  him  liable 
in  later  years  to  the  afflictions  which  accompany 
nervous  disorders.  In  some  cases  "tickling"  a 
child  has  caused  stammering  or  stuttering.  Care 
should  be  exercised  here  as  well,  for  prolonged 
tickling  brings  about  intense  muscular  contrac- 
tion especially  of  the  diaphragmatic  muscles, 
which  contraction  is  accompanied  by  an  agitated 
mental  condition  as  well  as  extreme  nervousness, 
all  of  which  approaches  very  closely  to  the  com- 
bination of  abnormal  conditions  which  are  found 
to  be  present  in  stammering  or  stuttering. 

Fall  or  Injury  as  a  Cause:  Step  into  any 
gathering  of  average  American  parents  for  a 
half -hour  and  if  the  subject  of  the  children  should 
come  up,  you  are  sure  to  hear  one  or  more 
dramatic  recitals  of  the  falls  and  injuries  suffered 
by  the  junior  members  of  the  household,  from  the 
first  time  that  Johnny  fell  out  of  bed  and  fright- 
ened his  mother  nearly  to  death,  to  the  day  that 
he  was  in  an  automobile  crash  at  the  age  of  23. 


86  STAMMEKING 

And  these  tales  are  always  closed  with  the  pro- 
found bit  of  confided  information  that  these  falls 
are  of  no  consequence — "nothing  ever  comes  of 
them." 

While  in  a  great  measure  this  is  true,  there  are 
many  falls  and  injuries  suffered  in  childhood 
which  are  responsible  for  the  ills  of  later  life, 
although  it  is  seldom  indeed  that  they  are  blamed 
for  the  results  which  they  bring  about. 

Injuries  and  falls  are  a  frequent  cause  of  stut- 
tering and  stammering.  Usually,  however,  an 
injury  results  in  stuttering  or  stammering,  not 
because  of  any  change  in  the  physical  structure 
brought  about  by  the  injury  but  rather  by  the 
nervous  shock  attending  it.  In  other  words,  cases 
of  stammering  and  stuttering  caused  apparently 
by  injury  might,  if  desired,  be  traced  still  further 
back,  showing  as  the  initial  cause  an  injury  but 
as  a  direct  cause  the  fright  or  nervous  shock  re- 
sulting from  that  injury. 

A  good  example  of  this  is  found  in  a  case  of  a 
young  man  who  came  to  me  some  years  ago. 
He  said:  "When  I  was  about  five  years  old, 
my  brother  and  I  were  playing  in  the  cellar  and 
I  wanted  to  jump  off  the  top  step.  When  I 
jumped,  I  hit  my  head  on  the  cross-piece  and  it 


ITS   CAUSE   AND   CUKE  87 

knocked  me  back  on  the  steps  and  I  slid  down  on 
my  back,  and  ever  since,  for  ten  years,  I  have 
stammered." 

Here  is  a  case  where  the  blow  on  the  head,  or 
the  succession  of  blows  on  the  spinal  column  as 
the  boy  slid  down  the  stairs,  might  have  been  the 
cause  of  the  trouble.  More  probably,  it  was  the 
combined  injury,  undoubtedly  resulting  in  a 
severe  nervous  shock  from  which  the  boy  probably 
did  not  recover  for  many  days. 

Another  man  said,  in  describing  his  case  during 
an  examination:  "At  the  age  of  16, 1  was  hit  on 
the  head  with  a  ball.  I  lost  my  memory  for  one 
week  and  when  I  regained  it,  I  was  a  stammerer." 
This  is  a  plain  case  of  injury  resulting  in  imme- 
diate stammering. 

Still  another  case  is  that  of  a  boy  who,  at  the 
age  of  three,  was  shot  in  the  neck  by  a  rifle,  the 
bullet  coming  out  of  his  chin,  which  resulted  in 
his  becoming  an  immediate  stammerer.  Here,  as 
in  the  case  of  the  boy  who  swallowed  the  nail,  it 
might  be  expected  that  the  cause  was  a  defect  in 
the  organs  of  speech,  but  I  found  stammering 
was  brought  on  by  the  nervous  shock. 

From  these  few  cases  of  actual  occurrences,  it 
will  be  seen  that  practically  all  cases  of  stammer- 


88  STAMMERING 

ing  caused  by  injury  can  be  traced  to  the  nervous 
shock  brought  about  by  the  injury. 

Heredity  as  a  Cause:  There  is  little  that  need 
be  said  on  the  subject  of  heredity  as  a  cause  of 
stuttering  and  stammering,  save  that  heredity  is 
a  common  cause  and  that  children  of  stuttering 
or  stammering  parents  usually  stammer.  In  this, 
as  in  the  case  of  any  malady  hereditarily  trans- 
mitted, it  is  difficult  to  say  whether  the  trouble  is 
caused  by  inheritance  or  by  constant  and  intimate 
association  of  the  child  with  his  parents  during 
the  period  of  early  speech  development. 

The  Result  of  Disease:  Many  cases  of  both 
stammering  and  stuttering  may  be  traced  back  to 
disease  as  the  basic  or  predisposing  cause.  Acute 
Chorea  (St.  Vitus  Dance)  is  frequently  the  cause 
of  stuttering  of  a  type  known  as  Choreatic  Stut- 
tering or  "Tic  Speech."  Infantile  Cerebral  Palsy 
sometimes  brings  about  a  condition  known  as 
"Spastic  Speech,"  while  whooping  cough,  scarlet 
fever,  measles,  meningitis,  infantile  paralysis, 
scrofula  and  rickets  are  sometimes  responsible  for 
the  disorder. 

Disease  may  cause  stuttering  or  stammering  as 


ITS   CAUSE   AND    CURE  89 

an  immediate  after  effect  or  the  speech  trouble 
may  not  show  up  for  considerable  time,  depend- 
ing altogether  upon  the  individual.  But  regard- 
less of  the  length  of  time  clasping  between  the 
disease  which  predisposes  the  individual  to  the 
speech  disorder  and  the  time  of  the  first  evidence 
of  its  presence,  diagnosis  reveals  but  an  insignifi- 
cant percentage  of  organic  defects  in  these  cases 
resulting  from  disease,  indicating  that  even  here 
the  predominant  causative  factor  is  a  mental  one. 


CHAPTER  III 


EACH  individual  case  of  stuttering  or  stam- 
mering has  its  own  peculiarities,  already 
more  or  less  developed — arising  from  structural 
differences  (but  not  necessarily  defects)  in  the 
organs  of  speech,  as  well  as  differences  in  tem- 
perament, health  and  nervousness;  or  peculiari- 
ties arising  from  habit — which  is  the  result  of 
previous  training  or  neglect,  as  the  case  may  be. 
Sing  Without  Difficulty:  Almost  without 
exception,  the  stutterer  or  stammerer  can  sing 
without  any  difficulty,  can  talk  to  animals  without 
stuttering  or  stammering,  can  talk  when  alone 
and  in  some  cases  can  talk  perfectly  in  a  whisper. 
Some  stammerers  have  less  difficulty  in  talking 
to  strangers  than  in  talking  to  friends  or  relatives 
while  in  other  cases,  the  condition  is  exactly  re- 
versed. A  stutterer  or  stammerer  almost  always 
experiences  difficulty  in  speaking  over  the  tele- 
phone. One  experimenter  has  shown,  however, 


ITS   CAUSE   AND   CURE  91 

that  a  stammerer  can  talk  perfectly  over  the  tele- 
phone so  long  as  the  receiver  hook  is  depressed 
and  there  is  no  connection  with  another  person  at 
the  other  end  of  the  line.  This  experimenter 
shows  that  immediately  the  receiver  hook  is 
released  and  a  connection  is  established,  the  halt- 
ing, stumbling  utterance  begins. 

These  peculiarities  of  stuttering  and  stammer- 
ing for  many  years  puzzled  investigators  and 
were,  in  fact,  finally  responsible  for  arriving  at 
the  true  cause  of  stammering. 

Almost  every  stammerer  seeks  for  an  explana- 
tion of  these  peculiar  manifestations.  Why  is  it, 
for  instance,  that  a  stammerer  can  sing  without 
difficulty,  although  he  cannot  talk?  This  is  one 
of  the  best  evidences  that  could  be  produced  to 
show  that  stammering  is  the  result  of  a  lack  of 
mental  control.  The  stammerer  who  can  sing 
without  difficulty  has  no  organic  or  inherent 
defect  in  the  vocal  organs,  that  is  sure.  If  the 
stammerer  can  sing,  and  if  this  proves  that  he  has 
no  organic  defect,  then  it  follows  logically  that 
the  cause  of  his  trouble  is  mental  and  not  physical. 

Talk  When  Alone:  The  fact  that  a  stammerer 
can  talk  without  hesitation  when  alone  and  that 


92  STAMMERING 

he  can  talk  to  animals  may  be  explained  by  a 
very  simple  illustration — any  stammerer  can  try 
this  experiment  on  one  of  his  friends  who  does 
not  stammer.  He  can  prove  that  the  reflex,  or 
what  might  be  termed  subconscious  movements 
of  the  bodily  organs  are  more  nearly  normal 
than  the  same  movements  consciously  controlled. 
Take,  for  instance,  the  regular  beating  of  the 
pulse.  Let  anyone  who  does  not  stammer  (it 
makes  no  difference  in  trying  this  experiment 
whether  the  person  stammers  or  not,  save  that 
we  are  trying  to  prove  that  the  condition  may  be 
brought  about  in  one  who  is  not  a  stammerer) 
feel  his  own  pulse  for  sixty  seconds.  Let  him  be 
thoroughly  conscious  of  this  effort  to  learn  the 
rapidity  of  its  beating.  If  a  disinterested 
observer  could  record  the  pulse  as  normally  beat- 
ing and  the  pulse  under  the  conscious  influence 
of  the  mind,  it  would  be  found  that  the  pulse 
under  the  conscious  effort  is  beating  either  more 
rapidly  or  more  slowly  or  that  it  is  not  beating 
as  regularly  as  in  the  case  of  unconscious  or  reflex 
action. 

This  same  condition  may  be  noticed  in  another 
unconscious  or  reflex  action — breathing.     The 


ITS   CAUSE   AND   CURE  93 

moment  you  become  conscious  of  an  attempt  to 
breathe  regularly,  breathing  becomes  difficult,  re- 
stricted, irregular,  whereas  this  same  action,  when 
unconscious,  is  thoroughly  regular  and  even. 

In  the  average  or  normal  person  who  has 
learned  to  talk  correctly,  speaking  should  be 
practically  an  unconscious  process.  It  should  not 
be  necessary  to  make  a  conscious  effort  to  form 
words,  nor  should  a  normal  individual  be  con- 
scious of  the  energy  necessary  to  create  a  word 
or  the  muscular  movements  necessary  to  its 
formation  and  expression. 

This  will  explain  why  the  stutterer  or  stam- 
merer can  talk  without  difficulty  to  animals  or 
when  alone — there  is  no  self-consciousness — no 
conscious  effort — no  thinking  of  what  is  being 
done. 

Another  of  the  peculiarities  of  stammering  is 
that  the  stammerer  in  many  cases  seems  to  be 
able  to  talk  perfectly  in  concert.  This  has  long 
baffled  the  investigator  in  this  field,  no  reason 
being  assignable  for  this  ability  to  talk  in  con- 
nection with  others.  The  baffling  element  has 
been  this — that  the  investigator  has  assumed  that 
the  stammerer  talked  well  in  concert,  whereas  a 


94  STAMMERING 

very  careful  scientist  would  have  discovered  the 
stammerer  to  be  a  fraction  of  a  second  or  a  part 
of  a  syllable  behind  the  others. 

You  have  doubtless  been  in  church  at  some 
time  when  you  were  not  entirely  familiar  with 
the  hymn  being  sung,  yet  by  lagging  a  note  or 
two  behind  the  rest,  you  could  sing  the  song,  to 
all  appearances  being  right  along  with  the  others. 

When  you  talk  over  the  long-distance  tele- 
phone, the  voice  seems  instantly  to  reach  the 
party  at  the  other  end  of  the  line,  yet  we  know 
that  a  period  of  time  has  had  to  elapse  to  allow 
the  voice  waves  to  move  along  the  telephone  wire 
and  reach  the  other  end.  The  elapse  of  time  has 
been  too  slight  to  be  noted  by  the  average  human 
mind  and  the  transmission  seems  instantaneous. 
This  is  what  happens  in  the  case  of  the  stammerer 
who  seems  able  to  talk  in  concert — he  is  merely 
a  syllable  or  part  of  a  syllable  behind  the  rest,  all 
the  while  giving  the  impression  nevertheless,  that 
he  is  talking  just  as  they  are. 

There  are  many  other  individual  peculiarities 
which  can  be  described  by  almost  every  stam- 
merer. These  different  peculiarities  are  more 
numerous  than  the  cases  of  stammering  and  it 
would  be  useless  to  attempt  to  discuss  them  in 


ITS   CAUSE   AND   CURE  95 

detail.  I  will  take  up  only  two  as  being  typical 
of  dozens  which  have  come  under  my  observation 
in  twenty-eight  years'  experience. 

One  stammerer  explains  his  difficulty  as  fol- 
lows: "I  find  I  am  unable  to  talk  and  do  some- 
thing else  at  the  same  time.  For  instance,  I  have 
difficulty  in  talking  while  dancing,  while  at  the 
table  or  while  listening  to  music.  If,  for  instance, 
I  wish  to  talk  to  any  one  while  the  Victrola  is 
being  played,  I  unconsciously  cut  it  off."  This 
is  a  case  where  the  stammerer  finds  that  all  of  his 
faculties  must  be  concentrated  upon  a  supreme 
effort  to  speak  before  this  becomes  possible.  In 
other  words,  he  has  not  yet  learned  to  control 
sufficiently  the  different  parts  of  his  body  so  that 
they  may  act  independently.  This  might  be 
termed  a  lack  of  independent  co-ordination. 

In  the  case  of  another  young  man,  he  found 
himself  unable  to  control  the  movements  of  his 
muscles.  In  describing  his  trouble,  he  said:  "At 
one  time,  when  I  was  talking  particularly  bad,  I 
was  out  with  some  other  fellows  driving  our  car. 
I  started  to  talk,  found  it  almost  impossible  and 
noticed  a  sharp  twitching  of  the  muscles  of  face, 
arms  and  limbs.  Try  as  I  might,  I  found  I  could 
not  control  these  movements  and  in  another 


96  STAMMERING 

minute  I  had  steered  the  car  into  the  ditch  and 
wrecked  it.  And  now,"  adds  the  young  man, 
"although  father  has  a  new  car,  I  am  never 
allowed  to  drive  it  1" 

Here  was  a  case  where  the  spasmodic  action  of 
the  muscles  had  gotten  so  far  beyond  control  as 
to  make  the  ordinary  pursuits  of  life  dangerous 
to  the  young  man  who  stammered.  These  spas- 
modic movements  were  always  present — he  told 
of  one  occasion  when  he  was  in  a  barber's  chair 
being  shaved.  He  attempted  to  say  a  word  or 
two  while  the  barber  was  at  work  upon  him,  with 
the  result  that  he  lost  control  of  the  muscles  of 
face  and  neck,  causing  the  barber  to  cut  a  long 
gash  in  his  neck. 

This  was,  of  course,  an  abnormal  case  of 
spasmodic  stammering,  evidencing  extraordinary 
muscular  contractions  of  the  worst  type.  In 
practically  every  case  of  stammering  some  such 
peculiarity  is  evident,  resulting  from  the  inabil- 
ity of  the  stammerer's  brain  to  control  physical 
actions. 


CHAPTER  IV 

THE  INTEBMITTENT  TENDENCY 

PARADOXICAL    as    the    statement    may 
seem,  it  is  nevertheless  true  that  one  of  the 
symptoms  of  least  seeming  importance  marks  one 
of  the  most  dangerous  aspects  of  both  stuttering 
and  stammering. 

This  is  the  alternating  good-and-bad  condition 
known  as  the  Intermittent  Tendency  or  the 
tendency  of  the  stutterer  or  stammerer  to  show 
marked  improvement  at  times. 

This  seeming  improvement  brings  about  a 
feeling  of  relief,  the  unreasoning  fear  of  failure 
seems  for  the  time  to  have  left  almost  entirely; 
the  mental  strain  under  which  the  sufferer  ordi- 
narily labors  seems  to  be  no  longer  present;  there 
is  but  little  worry  about  either  present  condition 
or  future  prospects ;  the  nervous  condition  seems 
to  have  very  materially  improved,  self-confidence 
returns  quickly  and  with  it  the  hope  that  the 
trouble  is  gone  forever  or  is  at  least  rapidly  dis- 
appearing. With  these  manifestations  of  im- 
provement come  also  a  greater  ease  in  concen- 


98  STAMMERING 

tration,  a  greater  and  more  facile  power-of-will 
and  an  ambition  that  shows  signs  of  rekindling, 
with  worth-while  accomplishments  in  prospect. 

Hope  now  burns  high  in  the  breast  of  the  stut- 
terer or  stammerer.  They  go  about  smiling 
inwardly  if  not  outwardly,  happy  as  the  proud 
father  of  a  new  boy,  at  peace  with  the  world. 
The  sun  shines  brighter  than  it  has  for  months  or 
years.  Every  one  seems  much  more  pleasant  and 
agreeable.  Things  which  the  day  before  seemed 
totally  impossible  seem  now  to  come  within  their 
range  of  accomplishment.  Such  is  the  feeling  of 
the  confirmed  stutterer  or  stammerer  during  the 
time  of  this  pseudo-freedom  from  his  speech  dis- 
order. 

In  his  own  mind,  the  sufferer  is  quite  sure  that 
his  malady  has  disappeared  over-night,  like  a  bad 
dream  and  that  freedom  of  speech  has  been  be- 
stowed upon  him  as  a  gift  from  the  gods  on  high. 

The  higher  the  hopes  of  the  sufferer  and  the 
greater  the  assurance  with  which  he  pursues  the 
activities  of  his  day,  the  greater  is  his  disappoint- 
ment and  despair  when  the  inevitable  relapse 
overtakes  him. 

For  disappointment  and  despair  are  sure  to 
conic — just  as  sure  as  the  sun  is  to  rise  in  the 


ITS    CAUSE   AND   CUBE 

heavens  in  the  morning.  The  condition  of  relief 
is  but  temporary,  and  will  soon  pass  away  to  be 
followed  by  a  return  of  his  old  trouble  in  a  form 
more  aggravated  than  ever  before. 

Fate  seems  to  play  with  the  stammerer's  afflic- 
tion as  a  cat  plays  with  a  mouse,  allowing  him  to 
be  free  for  a  few  hours,  a  few  days  or  a  few  weeks 
as  the  case  may  be,  only  to  drag  the  dejected  suf- 
ferer back  to  his  former  condition — or,  as  is  true 
in  many  cases,  worse  than  before. 

The  Recurrence:  With  the  return  of  the 
trouble,  the  bodily  and  mental  reaction  are  almost 
too  great  for  the  human  mechanism  to  withstand. 
Hope  seems  to  be  a  word  which  has  been  lost 
from  the  life  of  the  stammerer.  The  fear  of  fail- 
ure returns  with  an  overwhelming  force  mocking 
the  sufferer  with  the  thought  of  "Oh,  how  I 
deceived  you!!";  the  mental  strain  is  exceedingly 
great — so  great,  in  fact,  that  it  seems  as  if  the 
breaking  point  has  almost  been  reached.  The 
nervous  condition  is  alarming,  the  sufferer  not- 
ing in  himself  an  inability  to  work,  to  play,  to 
study  or  even  to  sit  still.  An  observer  would  note 
the  stammerer  or  stutterer  in  this  condition 
fingering  his  coat  lapels,  putting  his  hands  in  his 


100  STAMMERING 

pockets  and  removing  them  again,  biting  his 
finger  nails,  constantly  shifting  eyes,  head,  arms 
and  feet  about.  If  at  home,  the  sufferer  in  this 
condition  would  probably  be  seen  walking  about 
the  house,  unable  to  read,  to  play  or  listen  to 
music  or  to  follow  any  of  the  accustomed  activi- 
ties of  his  life.  If  in  business  or  in  the  shop,  he 
would  be  noticed  making  frequent  trips  to  the 
wash  room,  to  the  drinking  fountain,  to  the  fore- 
man, picking  up  and  laying  down  his  tools,  look- 
ing out  the  window,  shifting  from  one  foot  to 
another,  all  of  which  symptoms  indicate  an  acute 
nervous  condition,  brought  about  by  the  return 
of  his  trouble. 

At  this  stage,  the  stammerer's  confidence  is 
hopelessly  gone,  so  it  seems,  and  this  feeling  is 
accompanied  by  one  of  depression  which  finds  an 
outlet  in  the  expression  of  the  firm  belief  and  con- 
viction on  the  part  of  the  stutterer  or  stammerer 
that  the  disorder  can  NEVER  be  cured,  by  any 
method,  although  just  the  day  before  the  same 
sufferer  would  have  insisted  that  his  stuttering  or 
stammering  had  cured  itself  and  left  of  its  own 
accord. 

These  conditions,  both  at  the  time  of  the  so- 
called  improvement  and  at  the  time  of  the  recur- 


ITS   CAUSE   AND   CURE  101 

rence  of  the  trouble,  will  appear  in  greater  or  less 
degree  in  the  case  of  every  stutterer  or  stammerer 
whose  trouble  is  of  the  intermittent  type. 

The  Dangers  of  This  Tendency:  This  period 
of  recurrence  is  accompanied  by  almost  total  loss 
of  the  power-of-will,  a  marked  weakening  in  the 
ability  to  concentrate,  and  if  it  does  not  result  in 
insomnia  (inability  to  sleep)  puts  the  mind  in 
such  a  state  as  to  make  sleep  of  little  value  in 
building  up  the  body,  replacing  worn-out  tissue 
cells  and  restoring  vital  energy. 

The  chief  danger,  however,  resulting  from 
these  periods  of  temporary  improvement,  is  the 
belief  that  it  instills  into  the  mind  of  the  suf- 
ferer and  more  frequently  into  the  minds  of  the 
parents  of  stuttering  or  stammering  children, 
that  the  trouble  will  cure  itself — a  fallacy  greater 
than  which  there  is  none. 

Stuttering  and  stammering  are  destructive 
maladies.  They  tear  down  both  body  and  mind 
but  they  have  not  the  slightest  power  to  build  up. 
And  until  a  strong  mental  and  physical  structure 
has  been  built  up  in  place  of  the  weakened  struc- 
ture (which  results  in  stammering  and  stutter- 
ing) a  cure  is  out  of  the  question. 


CHAPTER  V 

THE  PROGRESSIVE  TENDENCY 

rjlHE  spell  of  intense  recurrence  of  either 
JL  stammering  or  stuttering  which  follows  a 
period  of  improvement,  often  marks  the  period 
of  transition  from  one  stage  of  the  disorder  into 
the  next  and  more  serious  stage.  This  transition, 
however,  may  not  be  a  conscious  process — that  is, 
the  sufferer  may  not  in  any  way  be  informed  of 
the  fact  that  he  is  passing  into  a  more  serious 
stage  of  his  trouble  save  that  after  the  transition 
has  taken  place,  he  may  find  himself  a  chronic  or 
constant  stammerer  and  in  a  nervous  and  mental 
condition  much  more  acute  than  ever  before. 

Dr.  Alexander  Melville  Bell  (father  of  Alex- 
ander Graham  Bell,  inventor  of  the  telephone), 
who,  before  his  death,  was  a  speech  expert  of 
unquestioned  repute,  discovered  this  condition 
many  years  ago  and  in  his  work  Principles  of 
Speech  speaks  of  it  as  follows  (page  234)  : 

"Often  the  transition  from  simple  to  more  complicated 
forme  of  difficulty  is  so  rapid,  that  it  cannot  be  traced  or 
anticipated.  Perhaps  some  slight  ailment  may  imperceptibly 


ITS   CAUSE   AND   CUKE  103 

introduce  the  higher  impediment  or  some  evil  example  maj 
draw  the  ill-mastered  utterance  at  once  into  the  vortex  cf  the 
difficulty." 

This  Progressive  Tendency,  which  we  shall  here- 
after call  the  Progressive  Character  of  the  trouble 
in  order  to  distinguish  it  from  the  Intermittent 
Tendency,  is  present  in  more  than  98  per  cent,  of 
the  cases  of  stammering  and  stuttering  which  I 
have  examined  and  diagnosed. 

True,  there  are  many  cases,  the  apparent  or 
manifest  tendencies  of  which  do  not  indicate  that 
the  disorder  is  becoming  more  serious,  but  never- 
theless this  condition  is  no  indication  that  the 
trouble  is  not  busily  at  work  tearing  out  the 
foundation  of  mental  and  bodily  perfection. 

Successive  Stages:  Stuttering  may  be  con- 
veniently divided  into  four  stages,  by  which  its 
progress  may  be  measured.  These  may  be  desig- 
nated in  their  order  as : 

1 — Simple  Phase 
2 — Advanced  Phase 
3 — Mental  Phase 
4 — Compound  Phase 

The  progress  of  the  disorder  is  sure.  Take  the 
case  of  a  child  eight  years  of  age  who  has  a  case 


104  STAMMEEING 

of  simple  stuttering.  Permit  the  child  to  go 
without  attention  for  some  time  and  the  trouble 
will  have  progressed  into  the  Advanced  Phase, 
usually  without  the  knowledge  of  the  child  or  his 
parents  or  without  any  especially  noticeable  sur- 
face change  in  his  condition. 

Stuttering  in  its  first  phase — Simple  Stutter- 
ing— can  justly  be  called  a  physical  and  not  a 
mental  trouble.  In  this  stage,  the  disorder  should 
be  easily  eradicated.  The  duration  of  cases  of 
Simple  Stuttering  is  very  slight,  for  the  reason 
that  Simple  Stuttering  soon  passes  into  the  Ad- 
vanced Phase,  which  is  of  a  physical-mental 
nature,  exhibiting  the  symptoms  of  a  mental  dis- 
turbance as  well  as  of  a  physical  difficulty. 

From  the  Advanced  Phase  stuttering  then 
passes  into  the  Mental  Phase,  where  the  mental 
strain  is  found  to  be  greatly  intensified  and  the 
disorder  a  distinct  mental  type  instead  of  a  phys- 
ical or  physical-mental  trouble. 

When  stuttering  in  this  stage  is  permitted  to 
continue  its  hold  upon  the  sufferer,  the  continued 
strain,  worry  and  fear  bring  about  a  condition  of 
extraordinary  malignancy,  in  which  the  trouble 
develops  into  the  Chronic  Mental  Stage.  This  is 
a  condition  bordering  upon  mental  breakdown 


ITS   CAUSE   AND   CURE  105 

and  even  though  the  complete  breakdown  never 
occurs,  the  one  afflicted  finds  himself  a  chronic 
stutterer,  without  surcease  from  his  trouble.  He 
further  finds  that  he  has  increasing  difficulty  in 
thinking  of  the  things  which  he  wishes  to  say. 
He  seems  to  know,  but  his  mind  refuses  to  frame 
the  thought.  In  other  words,  he  is  unable  to 
recall  the  mental  image  of  the  word  in  mind,  and 
is  therefore  unable  to  speak  the  word.  This  is  a 
condition  known  as  Aphasia  or  Thought  Lapse 
and  represents  a  most  serious  stage  of  the  diffi- 
culty, in  many  cases  totally  beyond  the  possibil- 
ity of  relief — a  condition  in  which  no  stutterer 
should  allow  himself  to  get. 

Stammering,  being  a  kindred  condition  to  stut- 
tering, progresses  from  bad  to  worse  in  a  manner 
very  similar.  The  progress  of  stammering  may 
be  classified  into  successive  stages  as  follows : 

1 — Elementary  Stage 

2 — Spasmodic  Stage 

3 — Primary  Mental  Stage 

4 — Chronic  Mental  Stage 

5 — Compound  Stage 

Stammering  in  the  Elementary  Stage,  like  Stut- 
tering, is  a  Physical  Trouble.  The  Stammerer 
has  often  been  known  to  remain  in  the  Elemen- 


106  STAMMERING 

tary  Stage  only  a  few  days  or  a  few  weeks,  pass- 
ing almost  immediately  into  either  the  Spasmodic 
or  the  Primary  Mental  Stage.  Not  all  stam- 
merers pass  into  the  Spasmodic  Stage  of  the 
disorder,  however,  some  passing  directly  into 
Primary  Mental  Stage. 

The  Spasmodic  Stage,  however,  is  a  form  of 
difficulty  somewhat  akin  to  the  Advanced  Phase 
of  Stuttering,  for  in  this  stage  the  trouble  can  be 
said  to  be  of  Physical-Mental  nature  instead  of 
the  purely  physical  disorder  found  in  Elemen- 
tary Stammering. 

Stammering,  in  the  Primary  Mental  Stage, 
takes  on  a  distinct  Mental  form  as  differentiated 
from  the  Mental-Physical  form  and  becomes 
therefore  more  difficult  to  eradicate.  If  allowed 
to  continue,  this  form  of  Stammering  (like  Stut- 
tering) passes  into  the  Chronic  Mental  Stage,  in 
which  case  the  Stammerer  usually  exhibits  pro- 
nounced signs  of  Thought  Lapse  and  finds  him- 
self a  Chronic  or  Constant  Stammerer,  often 
unable  to  utter  a  sound — and  further  at  times 
unable  to  think  of  what  he  wishes  to  say. 

The  progress  of  both  Stuttering  and  Stam- 
mering from  one  stage  to  another  is  very  certain. 
These  speech  disorders  do  not  differ  materially 


ITS    CAUSE   AND    CUKE  107 

from  other  human  afflictions  in  this  respect — they 
do  not  remain  constant.  There  is  an  axiom  in 
Nature,  that  "Nothing  is  static,"  which,  being  in- 
terpreted, means,  that  nothing  stands  still.  And 
this  applies  with  full  force  to  the  stutterer  or 
stammerer.  If  no  steps  are  taken  to  remedy  the 
malady,  he  may  be  very  sure  that  the  disorder  is 
getting  worse — not  standing  still  or  remaining 
the  same. 


CHAPTER  VI 

CAN  STAMMERING  AND  STUTTERING  BE 
OUTGROWN? 

PROBABLY  the  most  harmful  and  oft- 
repeated  bit  of  advice  ever  given  to  a  stam- 
merer or  stutterer  is  that  which  says,  "Oh,  don't 
bother  about  it — you  will  soon  outgrow  the  trou- 
ble!" It  is  the  most  harmful  because  it  is  palp- 
ably untrue.  It  is  so  oft-repeated  because  the 
person  giving  the  advice  knows  nothing  what- 
ever about  the  cause  of  stammering  and  just  as 
little  about  its  progress  or  treatment. 

The  fact  that  we  hear  of  no  cases  of  stuttering 
or  stammering  which  have  been  outgrown  does 
not  seem  to  alter  the  popular  and  totally  un- 
founded belief  that  stammering  and  stuttering 
can  be  readily  outgrown. 

If  the  reader  has  not  read  the  chapter  on  the 
causes  of  stuttering  and  stammering  and  the  two 
preceding  chapters  on  the  Intermittent  Tendency 
and  the  Progressive  Character  of  these  speech 
disorders,  then  these  chapters  should  be  read  care- 
fully before  going  further  with  this  one,  because 


ITS   CAUSE   AND   CUBE  109 

it  is  essential  to  know  the  cause  of  the  trouble 
before  it  is  possible  to  answer  intelligently  the 
question,  "Can  Stammering  be  Outgrown?" 

To  any  one  who  understands  the  nature  of  the 
difficulty  and  the  progress  it  is  liable  to  make,  the 
question  is  almost  as  absurd  as  asking  whether  or 
not  the  desire  to  sleep  can  be  outgrown  by  stay- 
ing awake.  But  aside  from  its  scientific  aspect — 
aside  from  the  absurdity  of  the  question — let  us 
examine  the  facts  as  revealed  by  actual  records  of 
cases.  Let  us  dispense  with  all  theory  on  the  sub- 
ject and  take  experience  gained  in  a  wide  range 
of  cases  as  the  correct  guide  in  rinding  the  answer. 

Facts  from  Statistics:  An  examination  of  the 
records  of  several  thousand  cases  of  stuttering 
and  stammering  of  all  types  and  in  all  stages  of 
development  reveals  the  fact  that  after  passing 
the  age  of  six,  only  one-fifth  of  one  per  cent,  ever 
outgrow  stammering.  This  means  that  out  of 
every  five  hundred  people  who  stammer,  only  one 
ever  outgrows  it.  Between  the  ages  of  three  and 
•ix,  the  indications  are  more  favorable,  the  rec- 
ords in  these  cases  showing  that  slightly  less  than 
one  per  cent,  outgrow  the  difficulty.  That  means 


110  STAMMERING 

that  one  out  of  every  hundred  children  affected 
has  a  chance,  at  least,  of  outgrowing  the  difficulty 
between  the  ages  of  three  and  six,  and  after  that 
time,  only  one  chance  in  five  hundred. 

Suppose  you  were  handed  a  rifle,  given  five 
hundred  cartridges  and  told  to  hit  a  bull's  eye  at 
a  hundred  yards,  499  times  out  of  500.  Suppose 
you  were  told  that  if  you  missed  once  you  would 
have  to  suffer  the  rest  of  your  life  as  a  stammerer. 

Would  you  take  the  offer?     Certainly  not!!! 

And  yet  that  is  exactly  the  opportunity  that  a 
stammerer  over  six  years  of  age  has  to  outgrow 
his  trouble. 

Dr.  Leonard  Keene  Hirschberg,  the  medical 
writer,  whose  suggestions  appear  daily  in  a  large 
list  of  newspapers,  has  this  to  say  about  the  pos- 
sibility of  outgrowing  stammering: 

"Often  when  the  attention  of  careless  and  reckless  fa- 
talistic relatives  is  attracted  to  a  child's  stammering,  they 
labor  nnder  the  mistaken  illusion  that  the  child  'will  out- 
grow it.'  A  more  harmful  doctrine  has  never  been  perpet- 
uated than  the  one  contained  in  that  stock  phrase.  As  a 
matter  of  experience,  speech  troubles  are  not  'outgrown.' 
They  become  'ingrown.'  If  not  corrected  at  first  they  go 
from  bad  to  worse.  So  firmly  rooted  and  ingrained  into  the 
child's  habits  does  stuttering  become  that  with  every  hour's 
growth  the  chance  for  a  cure  becomes  farther  and  farther 
removed." 

This    statement    from    Dr.    Hirschberg    is    a 


ITS    CAUSE   AND   CURE  111 

straight-forward,  practical  and  common-sense 
view  of  the  subject. 

The  belief  that  the  child  will  outgrow  the 
malady  often  springs  out  of  the  tendency  of  the 
stammerer  to  be  better  and  worse  by  turns,  a 
condition  which  is  fully  described  and  explained 
in  the  chapter  on  the  Intermittent  Tendency. 
There  is  always  present  in  any  case  of  stammer- 
ing the  opportunity  for  a  cessation  of  the  trouble 
for  a  short  period  of  time.  The  visible  condition 
is  changeable  and  it  is  this  particular  aspect  of 
the  disorder  that  renders  it  deceptive  and  danger- 
ous, for  many,  who  find  themselves  talking  fairly 
well  for  a  short  period,  believe  that  they  are  on 
the  road  to  relief,  whereas  they  are  simply  in  a 
position  where  their  trouble  is  about  to  return 
upon  them  in  greater  force  than  ever. 

From  the  nature  of  the  impediment — lack  of 
co-ordination  between  the  brain  and  the  organs  of 
speech — stammering  cannot  be  outgrown — no 
more  so  than  the  desire  to  eat  or  to  talk  or  to 
sleep. 

Back  of  that  statement,  there  is  a  very  sound 
scientific  reason  that  explains  why  stammering 
cannot  be  outgrown.  Stammering  is  destructive. 
It  tears  down  but  cannot  build  up.  Every  time 


112  STAMMERING 

the  stammerer  attempts  to  speak  and  fails,  the 
failure  tears  out  a  certain  amount  of  his  power- 
of-will.  And  since  it  is  impossible  for  him  to 
speak  fluently  except  on  rare  occasions,  this  loss 
of  will-power  and  confidence  takes  place  every 
time  he  attempts  to  speak,  so  that  with  each  suc- 
cessive failure,  his  power  to  speak  correctly  be- 
comes steadily  lessened.  The  case  of  a  stammerer 
might  be  compared  to  a  road  in  which  a  deep  rut 
has  been  worn.  Each  time  a  wagon  passes 
through  this  rut,  it  becomes  deeper.  The  stam- 
merer has  no  more  chance  of  outgrowing  his 
trouble  than  the  road  has  of  outgrowing  the  rut. 
Dr.  Alexander  Melville  Bell  recognizes  the  ab- 
solute certainty  of  the  progress  of  stammering 
and  the  impossibility  of  outgrowing  the  difficulty, 
when  he  states  in  his  work,  Principles  of 
Speech  (page  234) : 

"If  the  stammerer  or  stutterer  were  brought  under  treat- 
ment before  the  spasmodic  habit  became  established,  his  cure 
would  be  much  easier  than  after  the  malady  has  become 
rooted  in  his  muscular  and  nervous  system." 

To  the  stammerer  or  stutterer  or  the  parents  of 
a  stammering  child,  experience  brings  no  truer 
lesson  than  this:  Stammering  cannot  be  out- 
grown ;  danger  lurks  behind  delay. 


CHAPTER  VII 

THE  EFFECT  ON  THE  MIND 

IT  is  hardly  necessary  to  describe  to  the  stam- 
merer who  has  passed  beyond  the  first  stage 
of  his  trouble  the  effect  of  stammering  on  the 
mind.  Most  any  sufferer  in  the  second  or  third 
stages  of  the  malady  has  experienced  for  very 
brief  periods  the  sensation  of  thoughts  slipping 
away  from  him  and  of  pursuing  or  attempting  to 
pursue  those  thoughts  for  some  seconds  without 
success,  finally  to  find  them  returning  like  a  flash. 
The  stammerer  who  recalls  such  an  incident 
will  remember  the  f  eelings  of  lassitude  or  momen- 
tary physical  exhaustion,  as  well  as  the  feeling  of 
weakness  which  followed  the  lapse-of-thought. 
This  mental  flurry  is  but  an  indication  of  a  men- 
tal condition  known  as  Thought-Lapse,  which 
may  result  from  long-continued  stammering, 
especially  a  case  which  has  been  allowed  to  pro- 
gress into  the  Chronic  or  Advanced  Stage. 

A  Case  of  Aphasia:    One  writer,  in  citing  in- 
stances of  thought-lapse,  or  aphasia,  tells  of  the 


114  STAMMERING 

case  of  a  man  unable  to  recall  the  name  of  any 
object  until  it  was  repeated  for  him.  A  knife, 
for  instance,  placed  on  the  table  before  him, 
brought  no  mental  image  of  the  word  represent- 
ing the  object,  yet  if  the  word  "knife"  were 
spoken  for  him,  he  would  immediately  say,  "Oh, 
yes,  it  is  a  knife." 

A  chapter  could  be  filled  with  instances  of  this 
sort,  but  I  shall  not  attempt  to  quote  further  any 
of  the  symptoms  of  aphasia  in  a  stammerer,  for 
in  cases  that  become  so  far  advanced,  there  is  con- 
siderable question  as  to  the  possibility  of  bringing 
about  a  cure.  I  say  this,  notwithstanding  the  fact 
that  my  experience  with  students  having  this 
tendency  has  been  very  satisfactory  indeed. 

Cases  of  unreasoning  despondency,  which  re- 
sult in  the  stammerer's  desire  to  take  his  own  life, 
are  so  numerous  as  hardly  to  require  comment. 
Very  frequently  you  see  in  some  of  the  large 
metropolitan  papers  an  account  of  a  suicide 
resulting  from  a  nervous  and  mental  condition 
brought  on  by  stuttering  and  stammering.  This 
condition  seems  to  be  very  marked  in  the  cases 
of  stammerers  between  the  ages  of  twelve  and 
twenty,  records  showing  that  most  of  the  suicides 
of  stammerers  are  persons  between  those  ages. 


ITS   CAUSE   AND   CURE  115 

The  intense  mental  strain,  the  extreme  nervous 
condition,  the  continual  worry  and  fear  cannot 
fail,  sooner  or  later,  to  have  its  effect  upon  the 
mind.  This  is  clear  to  any  stammerer,  who  is 
familiar  with  the  mental  condition  brought  about 
by  the  first  few  hours  of  one  of  his  periods  of  re- 
currence. Another  case  where  the  mental  strain 
is  extremely  great  is  that  of  the  synonym  stam- 
merer— the  mentally  alert  individual  who,  in 
order  to  prevent  the  outward  appearance  of 
stammering,  is  continually  searching  for  syno- 
nyms or  less  difficult  words  to  take  the  place  of 
those  which  he  cannot  speak.  This  continual 
searching  for  synonyms  results  in  a  nervous  ten- 
sion that  is  sure  to  tell  on  the  mental  faculties 
sooner  or  later,  and  I  have  found,  in  examining 
many  thousands  of  cases,  that  the  synonym  stam- 
merer is  usually  in  a  more  highly  nervous  state 
than  any  other  type. 

Mental  Strain  Eventually  Tells:  The  effect 
of  stuttering  or  stammering  on  the  sufferer's  con- 
centration is  very  marked.  The  sufferer  notes 
an  inability  to  concentrate  his  mind  on  any  sub- 
ject for  any  length  of  time,  finds  it  impossible  to 
pursue  an  education  with  any  degree  of  success 


116  STAMMERING 

or  to  follow  any  business  which  requires  close 
attention  and  careful  work. 

The  power-of-will  is  also  affected  and  the 
stammerer  notes  an  inability  to  put  through  the 
things  which  he  starts  and  which  require  the  exer- 
cise of  will  power  to  bring  to  a  successful  con- 
clusion. 

A  diagnosis  of  insanity  is  sometimes  made  in 
the  case  of  a  stammerer  in  the  advanced  stages  of 
his  malady,  while  in  other  instances  the  mental 
aberration  takes  the  form  of  a  hallucination  of 
some  sort,  as  in  the  case  of  the  boy  who  was  of 
the  belief  that  he  was  continually  being  followed. 

But  regardless  of  what  form  is  taken  by  the 
mental  disorder  resulting  from  stammering,  such 
cases  are  almost  invariably  found  to  have  long 
since  passed  into  the  incurable  stage,  although 
positive  statements  as  to  the  individual's  condi- 
tion should  not  be  made,  as  a  rule,  without  a 
thorough  diagnosis  having  first  been  made. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

THE  EFFECTS  ON  THE  BODY 

effect  of  stammering  or  stuttering 
J_  upon  the  physical  structure  is  problemat- 
ical. In  some  cases  examined,  a  noticeable  lack  of 
vitality  has  been  found,  together  with  an  almost 
total  loss  of  active  appetite,  a  marked  inclination 
toward  insomnia  and  a  generally  debilitated  con- 
dition resulting  from  the  nervous  strain  and  con- 
tinued fear  brought  on  by  the  speech  disorder. 

In  other  cases,  it  has  been  found  that  the  health 
was  but  little  affected  and  that  there  was  no 
marked  departure  from  normal. 

The  physical  condition  of  the  stammerer  is  the 
result  of  many  factors.  If  plenty  of  fresh  air 
and  exercise  is  supplied,  and  the  mind  is  well- 
employed  so  that  the  worry  over  the  trouble  does 
not  disturb  the  stammerer,  then  the  chances  for 
being  in  a  normal  physical  condition  are  good. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  boy  of  studious  dis- 
position, who  is  somewhat  of  a  bookworm,  keeps 
close  to  the  house  and  does  not  play  with  other 
children  of  his  age,  will  probably  find  time  for 


118  STAMMEBING 

much  introspection,  and  on  this  account,  as  well 
as  on  account  of  the  lack  of  fresh  air  and  exer- 
cise, will  probably  be  in  a  physical  condition  that 
of  itself  demands  careful  attention. 

It  has  been  found  in  examinations  of  stammer- 
ers and  stutterers,  however,  that  they  are  usually 
of  below  normal  chest  expansion  and  that  the 
health,  while  not  particularly  bad,  is  subject  to  a 
great  improvement  as  a  result  of  the  proper 
treatment  for  stammering. 

Charles  Kingsley,  the  noted  English  divine 
and  writer,  and  himself  a  stammerer  many  years 
ago,  has  the  following  to  say  regarding  the  effect 
of  stammering  on  the  body:  "Continual  depres- 
sion of  spirit  wears  out  body  as  well  as  mind. 
The  lungs  never  act  rightly,  never  oxygenate  the 
blood  sufficiently.  The  vital  energy  continually 
directed  to  the  organs  of  speech  and  there  used 
up  in  the  miserable  spasm  of  mis-articulation 
cannot  feed  the  rest  of  the  body ;  and  the  man  too 
often  becomes  thin,  pale,  flaccid,  with  contracted 
chest,  loose  ribs  and  bad  digestion.  I  have  seen 
a  boy  of  twelve  stunted,  thin  as  a  ghost  and  with 
every  sign  of  approaching  consumption.  I  have 
seen  that  boy  a  few  months  after  being  cured, 


ITS   CAUSE   AND   CUBE  119 

upright,  ruddy,  stout,  eating  heartily  and  begin- 
ning to  grow  faster  than  he  had  ever  grown  in 
his  life.  I  never  knew  a  single  case  in  which  the 
health  did  not  begin  to  improve  then  and  there." 


CHAPTER  IX 

DEFECTIVE  SPEECH  IN  CHILDREN 

(1)     The  Pre-Speaking  Period 

FROM  the  standpoint  of  speech  development, 
the  life  of  any  person  between  the  time  of 
birth  and  the  age  of  twenty-one  years,  may  be 
divided  into  four  periods  as  follows: 

From  Birth  to  Age  2 — Pre-Speaking 
Period. 

Age  2  to  Age  6 — Formative-Setting  Period 
Age  6  to  Age  11 — Speech-Setting  Period 
Age  11  to  Age  20 — Adolescent  Period 

This  chapter  will  deal  only  with  the  first  period  of 
tiie  child's  speech-development,  beginning  with 
birth  and  taking  the  child  up  to  his  second  year. 
The  speech  disorders  of  the  later  periods  will  be 
taken  up  in  the  three  following  chapters. 

The  Pre-Speaking  Period:   This  is  the  period 
between  the  time  of  birth  and  the  age  of  2,  and 


ITS   CAUSE   AND   CURE  121 

takes  the  child  up  to  the  time  of  the  first  spoken 
word.  This  does  not  mean,  of  course,  that  no 
child  speaks  before  the  age  of  2,  for  many  chil- 
dren have  made  their  first  trials  at  speaking  at 
as  early  an  age  as  15  months,  and  many  begin  to 
talk  by  the  time  they  are  a  year  and  a  half  old. 
At  the  age  of  two,  however,  not  only  the  pre- 
cocious child  but  the  child  of  slower-than-averagc 
development  should  be  able  to  talk  in  at  least 
brief,  disjointed  monosyllables. 

Before  taking  up  the  possibility  of  a  child  ex- 
hibiting symptoms  of  defective  speech  with  the 
first  utterance,  let  us  familiarize  ourselves  with 
the  fundamentals  underlying  the  production  of 
the  first  spoken  words. 

The  mother,  who  for  months,  perhaps,  has  been 
listening  with  eager  interest  and  fond  anticipa- 
tion for  her  child's  first  word  to  be  spoken,  has 
little  comprehension  of  the  vast  amount  of  edu- 
cation and  training  which  the  infant  has  absorbed 
in  order  to  perfect  this  first  small  utterance. 
Months  have  been  spent  in  listening  to  others,  in 
taking  in  sounds  and  recalling  them,  in  impress- 
ing them  upon  the  memory  by  constant  repeti- 
tion, until  finally  after  a  year  and  a  half,  or  more, 


122  STAMMERING 

perhaps,  the  circuit  is  completed  and  the  first 
word  is  put  down  as  history. 

Association  of  Ideas:  It  must  be  remembered 
that  perfect  co-ordination  of  speech  is  the  result 
of  many  mental  images,  not  of  one.  In  saying 
the  word  "salt,"  for  instance,  you  have  a  graphic 
mental  picture  of  what  salt  looks  like;  a  second 
picture  of  what  the  word  sounds  like;  a  "motor- 
memory"  picture  of  the  successive  muscle  move- 
ments necessary  to  the  formation  of  the  word; 
another  picture  that  recalls  the  taste  of  salt,  and 
still  another  that  recalls  the  movements  of  the 
hand  necessary  to  write  the  word. 

These  pictures  all  hinging  upon  the  word 
"salt"  were  gradually  acquired  from  the  time  you 
began  to  observe.  You  tasted  salt.  You  saw  it 
at  the  same  time  you  tasted  it.  There  you  see 
was  an  association  of  two  ideas.  Thereafter, 
when  you  saw  salt,  you  not  only  recognized  it  by 
sight,  but  your  brain  recalled  the  taste  of  salt, 
without  the  necessity  of  your  really  tasting  it. 
Or,  on  the  other  hand,  if  you  had  shut  your  eyes 
and  someone  had  put  salt  on  your  tongue,  the 
taste  in  that  case  would  have  recalled  to  your 


ITS   CAUSE   AND   CURE  123 

mind  the  graphic  picture  of  the  appearance  of 
salt. 

As  you  grew  older  and  learned  to  speak,  your 
vocal  organs  imitated  the  sound  of  the  word 
"salt"  as  you  heard  it  expressed  by  others  and 
thus  you  learned  to  speak  that  word.  At  that 
stage,  your  brain  was  capable  of  calling  up  three 
mental  pictures — an  auditory  picture,  or  a  pic- 
ture of  the  sound  of  the  word ;  a  graphic  or  visual 
picture,  or  a  picture  of  the  appearance  of  salt, 
and  a  third,  which  we  have  called  a  motor- 
memory  picture,  which  represents  the  muscular 
movements  necessary  to  speak  the  word.  A  little 
later  on,  after  you  had  gone  to  school  and 
learned  to  write,  you  added  to  these  pictures  a 
fourth,  the  movements  of  the  hand  necessary  to 
write  the  word  "salt." 

At  the  sight  of  the  mother,  a  child  may,  for 
instance,  be  heard  to  say  the  word  "Mom"  while 
at  the  sight  of  the  pet  dog  whose  name  is  "Dot," 
be  heard  to  say  "Dot"  in  his  ehildish  way. 

Here  we  have  the  first  example  in  this  child  of 
the  association  of  ideas.  The  child  has  heard,  re- 
peatedly, the  word  "Mama"  used  in  conjunction 
with  the  appearance  of  the  smiling  face  of  his 


124  STAMMERING 

mother.  Thus  has  the  child  acquired  the  habit 
of  associating  the  word  "Mama"  with  that  face — 
and  the  sight  of  the  countenance  after  a  time 
recalls  the  sound  of  the  associated  word.  Thus  a 
visual  image  of  the  mother  transmitted  to  the 
child  through  the  medium  of  the  eye,  links  up  a 
train  of  thought  that  finally  results  in  the  child's 
attempt  to  say  "Mama." 

To  take  another  example  of  the  association  of 
ideas  or  the  co-ordination  of  mental  images  neces- 
sary to  the  production  of  speech,  let  us  suppose, 
for  instance,  that  the  child  has  been  in  the  habit 
of  petting  the  dog  and  hearing  him  called  by 
name  "Dot"  at  the  same  time.  Now,  if  the  dog 
be  placed  out  of  the  child's  sight  and  yet  in  a  posi- 
tion where  the  hand  of  the  child  can  reach  and 
pet  him  in  a  familiar  way,  this  sense  of  touch,  like 
the  sense  of  sight,  will  set  up  a  train  of  thought 
that  results  in  the  child  making  his  childish 
attempt  to  speak  the  name  of  the  dog  "Dot." 

In  other  words  the  excitation  of  any  sensory 
organs  sets  up  a  series  of  sensory  impulses  which 
are  transmitted  along  the  sensory  nerve  fibres  to 
the  brain,  where  they  are  referred  to  the  cerebel- 
lum or  filing  case,  locating  a  set  of  associated  im- 


ITS   CAUSE   AND    CURE  125 

pulses  which  travel  outward  from  the  motor  area 
of  the  brain  and  result  in  the  actions,  or  series  of 
actions,  which  are  necessary  to  produce  a  word. 

It  will  make  the  action  of  the  brain  clearer  if 
the  reader  will  remember  the  sensory  nerve  fibres 
as  those  carrying  messages  only  TO  the  brain, 
while  the  motor  nerve  fibres  carry  messages  only 
FKOM  the  brain. 

To  make  still  clearer  this  association  of  ideas 
so  necessary  to  the  production  of  speech,  suppose 
this  same  child  hears  the  word  "Dot"  spoken  in 
his  presence.  He  will,  in  all  probability,  begin  to 
repeat  the  word,  and  to  search  diligently  for  his 
pet  dog.  Thus  it  will  be  seen  that  in  this  case  the 
sound  of  the  dog's  name  has  stirred  up  a  train  of 
mental  images,  one  of  these  being  a  visual  image 
of  the  dog  himself,  causing  the  child  to  look  about 
in  search  for  him. 

Hoio  We  Learn  to  Talk:  We  learn  to  talk, 
therefore,  purely  by  observation  and  imitation. 
Observation  is  here  used  in  a  broad  sense  and 
means  not  only  seeing  but  sensing,  such  as  sens- 
ing by  smelling,  touching  or  tasting.  The  child 
imitates  the  sounds  he  hears  and  if  these  sounds 


126  STAMMERING 

emanate  from  those  afflicted  with  defective  utter- 
ance, then  it  follows  that  the  initial  utterance  of 
the  child  will  be  likewise  defective. 

Source  of  the  First  Word:  The  first  spoken 
word  of  the  child  usually  finds  its  source  in  some 
name  or  word  repeatedly  spoken  in  the  child's 
presence.  It  is  not  usual  that  this  first  word  is 
marked  by  a  defective  utterance  and  if  such 
should  be  the  case,  then  it  is  safe  to  say  that  this 
faulty  utterance  can  be  traced  back  to  the  imita- 
tion of  some  member  of  the  family,  or  some  child 
who  has  been  permitted  to  talk  to  the  child  in  his 
pre-speaking  period.  There  is  little  to  be  gained 
by  tracing  the  first  word  back,  for  no  very  pro- 
found conclusion  can  safely  be  registered  with 
such  a  basis,  for  no  matter  what  the  word  be  and 
no  matter  whether  it  be  correctly  or  imperfectly 
enunciated,  it  is  the  result  of  imitation. 

There  may  be  two  exceptions  to  this,  however, 
one  being  the  case  of  a  child  with  a  physical  de- 
fect in  the  organs  of  speech  and  the  other  that  of 
a  child  who  has  inherited  from  the  parents  a  pre- 
disposition to  stammer  or  stutter.  These  excep- 
tions, however,  are  so  rare  as  to  hardly  require 
consideration.  In  the  first  (that  of  a  physical 


ITS   CAUSE   AND   CUEE  127 

defect)  it  is  hardly  probable  that  an  organic  de- 
fect would  manifest  itself  in  the  form  of  stutter- 
ing or  stammering,  but  rather  in  some  other  form 
of  defective  utterance.  In  the  case  of  the  in- 
herited predisposition  to  stutter  or  stammer,  there 
is  always  the  question  which  has  contributed  more 
largely  to  the  defective  utterance — the  inherited 
predisposition  or  the  association  with  others  wfio 
speak  in  a  faulty  manner. 

Advice  to  Parents:  It  is  very  essential  that 
from  the  very  beginning  of  the  period  of  the 
recording  of  suggestion,  the  child  is  shown  the 
correct  and  customary  utterance  with  the  best 
method  of  its  accomplishment.  The  child  should 
not  be  subjected  to  constant  repetitions  of  pho- 
netic defects,  imperfect  utterance  or  speech  dis- 
orders of  any  sort.  The  child  who  hears  none  but 
perfect  speech  is  not  liable  to  speak  imperfectly, 
or  at  least  not  so  liable  as  the  child  who  hears 
wrong  methods  of  talking  in  use  at  all  times,  for 
this  last  cannot  escape  the  effects  of  his  environ- 
ment. 


CHAPTER  X 

DEFECTIVE  SPEECH  IN  CHILDREN 

(8)     The  Formative  Period 

ri  iHE  period  in  a  child's  speech  development 
JL  dating  from  the  second  year  and  up  to  the 
sixth,  is  called  the  Formative  Period,  for  the 
reason  that  this  is  the  time  when  the  child  is  husy 
learning  new  words,  acquiring  new  habits  of 
speech,  co-ordinating  and  learning  properly  to 
associate  the  flood  of  ideas  which  overwhelm  the 
child-mind  in  this  period. 

The  child-vocabulary  at  this  time  is  but  an  echo 
of  the  vocabulary  of  the  home.  The  words  that 
have  been  used  most  frequently  there  are  most 
strongly  impressed  upon  the  child-mind.  The 
names  he  has  heard,  the  objects  he  has  seen,  the 
applications  of  speech-ideas — these  alone  are  now 
in  his  mind.  This  condition  is  inevitable  since  the 
child  must  learn  to  speak  by  imitation — and, 
since  he  has  had  no  source  of  word-pictures  other 
than  the  home,  he  must  have  acquired  facility  in 


ITS   CAUSE   AND   CURE  129 

the  use  of  only  those  words  he  has  had  an  oppor- 
tunity to  hear. 

Former  President  Wilson,  whose  faultless  dic- 
tion, remarkable  fluency  of  expression  and  dis- 
criminating choice  of  words,  made  him  a  master 
speaker  and  writer,  attributed  his  facility  to  the 
training  he  received  in  the  home  of  his  father,  a 
minister,  where  the  children  were  constantly 
encouraged  in  the  use  of  correct  English  and  in 
the  broadening  and  enrichment  of  their  store  of 
words. 

From  the  form  of  simple  child-speech,  made 
up  often  of  monosyllables  or  of  a  few  brief  and 
easy  sentences,  the  child  must  now  evolve  a  more 
complicated  form  of  thought-expression,  with  the 
use  of  connectives,  descriptions  and  a  finer 
gradation  of  color  than  heretofore. 

This  process  may  be  materially  aided  by  the 
parent  by  the  repetition  of  the  child's  own  utter- 
ances, proving  to  the  child  that  these  are  correct, 
that  he  is  being  understood  and  giving  him  con- 
fidence to  venture  further  out  in  his  attempts  at 
speech  amplification.  This  encouragement  of  the 
child-mind  in  its  attempts  to  speak  is  so  impor- 
tant that  it  is  worth  while  to  give  some  simple 


130  STAMMERING 

examples  of  what  is  meant,  in  order  that  the 
point  may  be  clearly  understood.  Let  us  take, 
first,  the  example  of  a  mother  who,  from  some 
cause,  allows  herself  to  be  of  a  nervous  and  irrita- 
ble disposition.  The  small  child  may  say,  "Mam- 
ma, I  want  a  tooky."  The  mother,  either  through 
indifference  or  through  habit,  says,  "You  want 
what?"  This,  first  of  all,  is  like  a  dash  of  cold 
water  to  the  child  in  his  uncertain  state  of  mind 
as  to  the  correctness  of  his  utterance.  The  child 
repeats,  "I  want  a  tooky,"  and  in  all  probability 
gets  the  further  inquiry,  "You  want  a  tooky — 
what's  that?"  which  undermines  the  child's  confi- 
dence in  himself  and  in  his  ability  to  talk. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  mother  who  under- 
stands the  needs  of  the  child  from  a  speech-form- 
ing standpoint  will  not  insist  on  the  child  repeat- 
ing the  word  time  after  time  as  if  it  was  not 
understood.  She  will  strive  hard  to  understand 
the  first  time,  even  though  the  expression  is  im- 
perfect and  difficult  of  interpretation,  and  her 
nimble  mind  having  figured  out  what  it  is  that  the 
child  desires,  will  say,  "Baby  wants  a  cooky?" 
Here  the  child,  in  his  comparatively  new  occupa- 
tion of  talking,  finds  a  deal  of  delight  in  knowing 


ITS   CAUSE   AND   CURE  131 

that  his  words  have  been  properly  comprehended 
and  feels  a  new  confidence  in  his  ability  to  express 
thoughts — which  confidence,  by  the  way,  is  essen- 
tial to  normal  speech  development  in  the  child. 
It  has  the  further  effect  of  correcting  the  tend- 
ency of  faulty  utterance,  and  in  time  will  result 
in  the  complete  eradication  of  the  natural 
tendency  to  "baby-talk"  which  is  too  often  en- 
couraged and  aided  by  the  habit  of  parents  in 
repeating  the  baby-talk.  In  no  case,  should  de- 
fective utterances  be  repeated,  no  matter  how 
"cute"  the  utterance  may  seem  at  the  time.  Many 
speak  indistinctly  throughout  their  entire  life 
simply  because  of  the  habit  of  their  parents  in 
repeating  baby-talk,  thus  confirming  incorrect 
images  of  numerous  words. 

Speech  Disorders  in  the  Formative  Period: 
The  Formative  Period  may  mark  the  beginning 
of  a  speech  disorder  and  in  many  instances 
chronic  cases  of  stuttering  and  stammering  may 
be  traced  to  a  simple  disorder  which  first  mani- 
fested itself  in  the  ages  between  2  and  6. 

Speech  disorders  arising  in  this  period  may  be 
traced  to  any  one  of  a  number  of  causes.  In  a 


132  STAMMERING 

child  of  five,  for  instance,  the  diagnostician  would 
look  for  evidences  of  an  inherited  tendency  to 
stammer  or  stutter;  he  would  look  also  for  cir- 
cumstances which  would  show  that  the  child  had 
acquired  defective  utterance  through  mimicry  of 
others  similarly  afflicted  or  through  the  uncon- 
scious imitation  of  the  defective  speech  of  those 
immediately  about  him. 

Failing  to  find  any  hereditary  tendency  to  a 
speech  defect  or  any  evidence  that  the  disorder 
had  been  acquired  by  imitation  or  mimicry,  the 
next  step  would  be  to  determine  whether  or  not 
the  trouble  had  been  caused  by  disease  or  injury. 

As  explained  in  Chapter  III,  the  diseases  of 
childhood,  such  as  Whooping  Cough,  Scarlet 
Fever,  Diphtheria,  Acute  Chorea,  Infantile 
Cerebral  Palsy  and  Infantile  Paralysis  are  fre- 
quently the  cause  of  stuttering  or  stammering, 
and  a  history  showing  a  record  of  these  diseases 
would  result  in  a  very  careful  examination  for 
the  purpose  of  determining  if  they  had  resulted 
in  a  form  of  defective  utterance. 

Advice  to  Parents:  But  whatever  the  cause  of 
the  trouble,  care  should  be  taken  to  see  that  it 
grows  no  worse  and  every  attempt  should  be 


ITS   CAUSE   AND   CURE  133 

made  to  eradicate  it  at  this  early  stage.  Like  a 
fire,  speech  disorders  in  their  early  stages  are 
insignificant  compared  to  their  future  progress 
and  can  be  much  more  readily  eradicated  then 
than  later.  Inasmuch  as  a  child  of  less  than  eight 
years  is  hardly  old  enough  to  undertake  institu- 
tional treatment  successfully,  it  behooves  the 
parent  of  the  stammering  or  stuttering  child  to 
render  what  home  assistance  is  possible,  during 
this  period.  The  old  adage,  tried  and  true,  that 
"An  ounce  of  prevention  is  worth  a  pound  of 
cure"  is  never  more  correctly  applied  than  here. 
A  few  simple  suggestions  may  aid  in  preventing 
the  trouble  from  progressing  rapidly  to  a  serious 
stage,  even  though  these  suggestions  do  not  erad- 
icate the  disorder  altogether. 

First  of  all,  the  child  should  be  kept  in  the  very 
best  possible  physical  condition.  This  means,  too, 
plenty  of  fresh  air  and  sunshine,  without  which 
any  child  is  less  than  physically  fit. 

It  is  important  that  the  child  be  not  allowed  to 
associate  with  others  who  stammer  or  stutter,  or 
who  have  any  form  of  speech  disorder.  Imita- 
tion or  mimicry,  as  heretofore  stated,  is  the  most 
prolific  cause  of  speech  trouble  and  to  place  a 
child  who  stammers  or  stutters  in  the  company 


134  STAMMERING 

of  an  older  person  similarly  afflicted,  is  to  invite 
a  serious  form  of  the  disorder. 

Nervousness,  while  not  the  cause  of  speech  dis- 
order, is  an  aggravant  of  the  trouble  and  should 
be  avoided.  The  child  should  not  be  allowed  to 
engage  in  anything  which  has  a  tendency  to  make 
him  nervous  or  highly  excited.  Such  a  condition 
will  aggravate  the  speech  trouble,  make  it  worse 
and  tend  to  fix  it  more  firmly  in  the  child. 

Furthermore,  parents  should  not  scold  or  be- 
rate the  child  because  he  stammers  or  stutters. 
No  child  stammers  or  stutters  because  he  wants 
to,  but  because  he  has  not  the  power  to  control 
his  speech  organs.  In  other  words,  the  child  can- 
not help  himself — and  scolding  and  harsh  words 
simply  cause  confusion  and  dejection  which  in 
turn  react  to  make  a  more  serious  condition. 

The  Chances  for  Outgrowing:  The  author's 
examination  and  diagnosis  of  more  than  20,000 
cases  of  speech  disorders  has  revealed  the  fact 
that  at  this  period  in  the  life  of  the  child  afflicted 
with  stammering  or  stuttering,  slightly  less  than 
1  per  cent,  outgrow  the  difficulty.  With  proper 
parental  care  it  might  be  possible  to  increase  this 
percentage,  perhaps  double  it,  but  this  should 


ITS   CAUSE   AND   CURE  135 

hardly  be  called  "outgrowing."  In  the  mind  of 
the  average  person,  the  expression  "outgrowing 
his  stammering"  means  that  the  stammerer  has 
been  able  to  go  ahead  without  giving  the  slightest 
heed  to  his  trouble  and  that  it  has,  by  some 
magical  process,  ceased  to  exist.  This  is  a  fal- 
lacy. Stammering  and  stuttering  are  both  de- 
structive and  progressive  and  no  amount  of 
indifference  will  result  in  relief — but  on  the  other 
hand,  will  terminate  in  a  more  malignant  type  of 
the  disorder.  It  is  true,  however,  that  more  care 
on  the  part  of  the  parent  in  looking  after  the 
formation  of  speech  habits  in  the  Pre- Speaking 
and  Formative  Periods  of  the  child's  speech  de- 
velopment, would  result  in  fewer  cases  of  chronic 
stammering  and  stuttering  in  later  life. 


CHAPTER  XI 

DEFECTIVE  SPEECH  IN  CHILDREN 

(3)     The  Speech-Setting  Period 

rriHE  period  from  the  age  of  6  to  the  age  of 
JL  11  (inclusive)  is  in  truth  the  Speech-Setting 
Period,  for  it  is  at  this  time  that  the  child's  speech 
habits  become  more  or  less  fixed,  and  his  vocabu- 
lary, while  constantly  developing,  manifests  tend- 
encies which  may  be  traced  through  into  the  later 
life  of  the  adult. 

This  Speech-Setting  Period  marks  two  very 
important  events  in  the  speech  development  of 
the  child.  First,  it  marks  the  period  of  second 
dentition  or  the  time  when  the  milk-teeth  are 
"shed"  and  the  new  and  permanent  teeth  take 
their  place.  This  is  a  critical  period  and  statistics 
show  that  there  is  a  marked  increase  in  speech 
disorders  at  this  time.  The  second  event  of  im- 
portance, both  to  child  and  to  parents,  is  the 
beginning  of  the  work  in  school.  It  must  be 
remembered  that  heretofore  the  child  has  been 
under  the  watchful  care  of  the  parents  during 
most  of  his  hours,  while  now,  with  the  beginning 


ITS   CAUSE  AND   CURE  137 

of  his  work  in  school,  he  is  having  his  first  small 
taste  of  facing  the  world  alone — even  if  only  for 
a  little  while  each  day. 

Regardless  of  the  attitude  which  the  child  takes 
toward  his  work  in  school,  this  work  presents  new 
problems  and  new  possibilities  of  danger  from  a 
standpoint  of  speech  development.  A  slight  de- 
fect in  utterance  which  at  home  is  passed  over 
from  long  familiarity,  is  the  subject  of  ridicule 
and  laughter  at  school.  For  the  first  time  in  the 
child-life,  the  stammering  or  stuttering  young- 
ster may  experience  the  awful  feeling  of  being 
laughed  at  and  made  fun  of,  without  exactly 
knowing  why.  He  will  have  to  face  the  ques- 
tions of  his  thoughtless  companions  who  will  at- 
tempt to  make  him  talk  merely  for  the  sake  of 
entertaining  themselves.  To  the  child  who  stut- 
ters or  stammers,  this  is  torture  in  its  worst  form. 
The  humiliation  and  disgrace  which  the  stammer- 
ing child  must  undergo  on  the  way  to  school,  in 
the  school-yard  and  on  the  way  home  again,  is  a 
tremendous  force  in  the  life  of  the  youngster — a 
force  which  may  seriously  impede  his  mental  de- 
velopment, his  physical  welfare  and  his  progress 
in  school.  He  finds  himself  unlike  others,  de- 
ficient in  some  respect  and  yet  not  realizing  the 


138  STAMMERING 

exact  nature  of  his  deficiency  or  understanding 
why  it  should  be  a  deficiency.  He  stands  up  to 
recite  with  a  constantly  increasing  fear  of  failure 
in  his  heart  and  unless  he  is  fortunate  enough  to 
have  a  teacher  who  understands,  is  apt  to  fare 
poorly  at  her  hands,  also.  Even  in  the  case  of  the 
teacher  who  does  understand  the  child's  difficulty 
and  consequently  permits  written  instead  of  oral 
recitations,  there  is  a  constant  feeling  of  inability 
on  the  part  of  the  child,  a  knowledge  of  being 
less-whole  than  those  about  him,  which  saps  the 
self-confidence  so  necessary  to  proper  mental  de- 
velopment and  normal  progress.  He  further- 
more misses  much  of  the  value  of  the  studies  that 
he  pursues,  for,  as  a  noted  educator  has  said,  "In 
order  for  a  child  to  remember  and  fix  clearly  in 
his  own  mind  the  things  he  studies,  those  things 
must  be  repeated  in  oral  recitation."  And  this 
the  stammering  or  stuttering  child  cannot  do. 

Sending  Stammering  Children  to  School: 
With  these  facts  in  mind,  the  question  arises  as  to 
whether  it  is  ever  policy  to  send  a  stammering 
or  stuttering  child  to  school,  knowing  that  he  is 
afflicted  with  a  speech-disorder.  In  the  first 
place  the  parents  who  send  a  stammering  child  to 


ITS   CAUSE   AND   CURE  139 

school  exhibit  a  careless  disregard  for  the  rights 
of  others  and  a  further  disregard  for  the  many 
children  who  must,  of  a  necessity,  associate  with 
this  stammering  child,  with  all  the  consequent 
dangers  of  infection  by  imitation  or  mimicry. 
Speech  defects  of  a  remediable  nature  among 
school  children  could  be  materially  reduced  by 
refusing  to  allow  children  so  afflicted  to  play  or 
in  any  way  associate  with  the  others  who  talk 
normally. 

Aside,  however,  from  the  question  of  the  par- 
ents' obligation  to  society  and  to  the  children  of 
others  (which  should  be,  in  the  end,  a  means  of 
protection  for  their  own  children,  as  well)  there 
is  the  bigger  and  more  selfish  aspect  of  the  ques- 
tion, viz. :  the  effect  on  the  child  himself. 

No  better  suggestion  can  be  given  than  that 
contained  in  "The  Habit  of  Success"  by  Luther 
H.  Gulick,  who  says : 

"If  you  take  a  child  that  is  really  mentally  subnormal  and 
put  him  in  school  with  normal  children,  he  cannot  do  well 
no  matter  how  hard  he  tries.  He  tries  again  and  again  and 
fails.  Then  he  is  scolded  and  punished,  kept  after  school 
and  held  up  to  the  ridicule  of  the  teacher  and  other  students. 
When  he  goes  out  on  the  playground,  he  cannot  play  with 
the  vigor  and  skill  and  force  of  other  children.  In  the  plays, 
he  is  not  wanted  on  either  side ;  he  is  always  '  it '  in  tag.  So 


140  STAMMERING 

he  soon  acquires  the  presentment  that  he  is  going  to  fail  no 
matter  what  he  does,  that  he  cannot  do  as  the  others  do  and 
that  there  is  no  use  in  trying.  So  he  gives  up  trying.  He 
quits. 

"That  is  the  largest  element  in  the  lives  of  the  feeble- 
minded— that  conviction  that  they  cannot  do  like  others,  and 
is  the  first  thing  they  must  overcome  if  they  are  to  be  helped. 
There  is  no  hope  whatever  of  growth,  as  long  as  they  foresee 
they  are  going  to  fail." 

The  futility  of  trying  to  "cram"  an  education 
into  a  subnormal  child  has  never  been  better 
expressed  than  in  the  statement  quoted  above. 
There  is  nothing  to  be  gained  by  insisting  that 
a  child  who  is  ill,  attend  school — and  it  should  be 
remembered  that  so  far  as  school  is  concerned,  the 
child  who  stutters  or  stammers  is  just  as  ill  as 
the  one  with  the  measles,  save  that  the  illness  of 
the  stammering  or  stuttering  child  is  chronic  and 
persistent,  while  that  of  the  other  is  temporary. 

Chances  for  Outgrowing  at  This  Age:  The 
opportunities  for  the  stammering  or  stuttering 
child  to  outgrow  his  trouble  are  about  five  times 
as  great  in  the  Formative  Period,  between  the 
ages  of  2  and  6,  as  they  are  in  the  Speech- Set  ting 
Period,  from  6  to  11.  In  the  former,  as  previ- 
ously explained,  statistics  show  that  about  1  per 
cent. — or  one  in  a  hundred — outgrow  their  trou- 


ITS   CAUSE   AND   CURE  141 

ble  before  the  age  of  6,  while  after  this  age  the 
percentage  drops  to  one-fifth  of  one  per  cent,  or 
about  one  person  in  every  five  hundred,  which  is 
a  very  small  chance  indeed. 

In  speaking  of  the  tendency  of  parents  to  wait 
in  the  hope  that  speech  disorders  will  be  out- 
grown, Walter  B.  Swift,  A.  B.,  S.  B.,  M.  D.,  has 
this  to  say: 

"This  suggestion  may  frequently  be  offered,  even  by  the 
physician.  Many  people  say,  'Let  the  case  alone  and  it  will 
outgrow  its  defect.'  No  treatment  could  be  more  foolish 
than  this.  No  advice  could  be  more  ill-advised;  no  sugges- 
tion could  show  more  ignorance  of  the  problems  of  speech. 
Such  advisers  are  ignorant  of  the  harm  they  are  doing  and 
the  amount  of  mental  drill  of  which  they  are  depriving  the 
pupil.  Nor  do  they  know  at  all  whether  or  not  the  case  will 
ever  '  outgrow '  its  defect.  In  brief,  this  advice  is  without 
foundation,  without  scientific  backing,  and  should  never  be 
followed." 

Advice  to  Parents:  Parents  of  children  be- 
tween the  ages  of  6  and  11  who  stammer  or  stut- 
ter, should  follow  out  the  suggestions  given  in  the 
previous  chapter,  with  the  idea  of  removing  the 
difficulty  in  its  incipiency  if  possible,  or  at  least 
of  preventing  its  progress.  If  by  the  time  the 
child  is  eight  years  of  age,  the  defective  utterance 
remains,  this  fact  is  proof  that  the  speech  dis- 
order is  of  a  form  that  will  not  yield  to  the  simple 


142  STAMMERING 

methods  possible  under  parental  treatment  at 
home  and  the  child  should  be  immediately  placed 
under  the  care  of  an  expert  whose  previous 
knowledge  and  experience  insures  his  ability  to 
correct  the  defective  utterance  quickly  and  per- 
manently. 

In  all  cases  after  the  age  of  8,  the  matter  should 
be  taken  firmly  in  hand.  There  should  be  no 
dilly-dallying,  no  foolish  belief  in  the  possibility 
of  outgrowing  the  trouble,  for  whatever  chances 
once  existed  are  now  past.  First  of  all,  the  child's 
case  should  be  diagnosed  by  an  expert  with  the 
idea  of  ascertaining  the  exact  nature  of  the  speech 
disorder,  the  probable  progress  of  the  trouble,  the 
present  condition,  the  curability  of  the  case  and 
the  possibilities  for  early  relief.  A  personal 
diagnosis  should  be  secured  where  possible,  but 
when  this  cannot  be  brought  about,  a  written 
description  and  history  of  the  case  should  enable 
the  capable  diagnostician  of  speech  defects  to 
diagnose  the  case  in  a  very  thorough  manner. 
The  result  of  this  diagnosis  should  be  set  down 
in  the  form  of  a  report  in  order  that  the  parent 
may  have  a  permanent  record  of  the  child's  con- 
dition and  may  be  able  to  take  the  proper  steps 
for  the  eradication  of  the  speech  disorder.  With 


ITS   CAUSE   AND   CURE  143 

this  information  as  to  the  child's  case  in  hand, 
parents  should  be  guided  by  the  advice  of  Alex- 
ander Melville  Bell,  one  of  the  greatest  speech 
specialists  of  his  age,  who  said: 

"Stuttering  and  Hesitation  are  stages  through  which  the 
stammerer  generally  passes  before  he  reaches  the  climax  of 
his  difficulty,  and  if  he  were  brought  under  treatment  before 
the  spasmodic  habit  became  established,  his  cure  would  be 
much  more  easy  than  after  the  malady  has  become  rooted  in 
his  muscular  and  nervous  system." 

Truly  may  it  be  said  of  the  stammering  child  at 
this  period,  that  "There  is  a  tide  in  the  affairs  of 
men,  which  taken  at  the  flood,  leads  on  to  for- 
tune ;  omitted,  all  the  voyage  of  their  life  is  bound 
in  shallows  and  in  miseries." 


CHAPTER  XII 

THE  SPEECH  DISORDERS  OF  YOUTH 

OUTH,  as  we  shall  define  it  from  the  stand- 
JL  point  of  the  development  of  speech  disorders, 
is  the  period  from  the  age  of  12  to  the  age  of  20. 
From  the  twelfth  to  the  twentieth  year  is  a  very 
critical  period  in  the  life  of  both  the  boy  and  the 
girl  who  stammers — a  period  which  should  have 
the  watchfulness  and  care  of  the  parent  at  every 
step.  This  is  known  as  the  period  of  adolescence 
and  may  be  said  to  mark  the  time  of  a  new  birth, 
when  both  mind  and  body  undergo  vital  changes. 
New  sensations,  many  of  them  intense,  arise,  and 
new  associations  in  the  sense  sphere  are  formed. 

To  the  boy  or  girl  passing  through  this  stage 
of  life,  it  is  a  period  of  new  and  unknown  forces, 
emotions  and  feelings.  It  is  a  time  of  uncer- 
tainty. The  sure-footed  confidence  of  childhood 
gives  way  to  the  unsure,  hesitating,  questioning 
attitude  of  a  mind  filled  with  new  and  strange 
thoughts  and  a  body  animated  by  new  and 
strange  sensations. 

These  are  the  symptoms  of  a  fundamental 


ITS   CAUSE  AND   CUBE  145 

change,  the  outward  manifestations  of  the  pass- 
ing from  childhood  to  manhood  or  womanhood. 
This  is  childhood's  equinoctial  storm,  marking  the 
beginning  of  the  second  season  of  life's  year.  In 
this  storm,  it  is  the  paramount  duty  of  the  parent 
to  be  a  safe  and  ever-present  pilot  through  the 
sea  that  to  the  captain  of  this  craft  is  as  uncharted 
as  the  route  to  the  Indies  in  Columbus'  day. 

The  revolution  now  taking  place  in  both  the 
mental  and  bodily  processes  results  in  a  lack  of 
stability — an  "unsettledness"  that  manifests  itself 
in  restlessness,  nervousness,  self -consciousness  or 
morbidness,  taking  perhaps  the  form  of  a  per- 
sistent melancholia  or  desire  to  be  alone. 

At  this  time  in  the  life  of  the  boy  or  girl,  the 
possibilities  for  stuttering  or  stammering  to 
secure  a  firm  hold  on  their  muscular  and  nervous 
system  are  very  great.  Next  to  the  age  of  second 
dentition,  children  at  the  age  of  puberty  are  most 
susceptible  to  stammering  or  stuttering. 

During  adolescence,  the  annual  rate  of  growth 
in  height,  weight  and  strength  is  increased  and 
often  doubled  or  more.  The  power  of  the  dis- 
eases peculiar  to  childhood  abates  and  the  liability 
to  the  far  more  numerous  diseases  of  maturity 
begins,  so  that  with  the  liability  to  both  it  is  not 


146  STAMMERING 

strange  that  this  period  is  marked  at  the  same 
time  by  increased  morbidity. 

The  significant  fact  about  stuttering  in  chil- 
dren as  far  as  it  relates  to  the  period  of 
adolescence,  is  that  this  stage  marks  the  most 
pronounced  susceptibility  to  the  malady  as  well 
as  the  time  during  which  it  may  most  quickly  pass 
into  the  chronic  stage.  Examinations  show  that 
the  largest  percentage  of  stutterers  among  boys 
was  at  the  ages  of  eight,  thirteen  and  sixteen, 
while  the  largest  percentage  among  girls  was  at 
the  ages  of  seven,  twelve  and  sixteen — the  earlier 
age  of  severity  in  girls  being  explained  by  the 
fact  that  the  girl  reaches  a  given  state  of  maturity 
more  quickly  than  a  boy. 

Parents  of  stammering  or  stuttering  children 
between  the  ages  of  twelve  and  twenty,  may  well 
note  with  alarm  the  increasing  nervousness,  the 
hyper-sensitive  feelings,  the  overpowering  self- 
consciousness  and  the  morbid  tendencies  which 
mark  a  state  of  mental  depression,  brooding  and 
worry  over  troubles  both  real  and  fancied. 

Period  of  Most  Frequent  Suicide:  Statistics 
gathered  over  a  period  of  years  indicate  that  the 


ITS   CAUSE   AND   CUBE  147 

cases  of  suicide  of  stammering  children  occur  at 
this  time  with  greater  frequency  than  at  any 
other.  Rarely  has  a  case  been  found  where  a 
child  has  attempted  to  take  his  life  before  the  age 
of  12  and  seldom  after  the  age  of  20. 

At  frequent  intervals  there  can  be  found  in  any 
of  the  large  papers,  a  very  brief  note  of  the  suicide 
of  a  child  who  had  found  life  too  much  of  a 
burden  for  him  to  bear  and  who,  as  a  conse- 
quence, fell  to  brooding  over  his  troubles  and  as 
the  easiest  way  out  of  them,  took  his  own  life.  A 
Chicago  boy  attempted  suicide  by  inhaling  gas, 
although  he  was  discovered  before  it  was  too  late. 
Another  took  his  own  life  by  shooting  himself 
with  a  revolver  given  him  some  years  ago  as  a 
birthday  present;  still  another  took  poison  as  the 
easiest  way  out  of  his  humiliation,  embarrassment 
and  despair. 

The  average  age  of  these  boys  was  about  16^2 
years,  which  marks  a  period  of  intense  self-con- 
sciousness and  extreme  sensitiveness  of  the  youth 
to  ridicule  and  disgrace. 

Tendency  to  Rapid  Progress:  The  condition 
of  the  young  person  between  the  ages  of  12  and 

10 


14)8  STAMMERING 

20  can  hardly  be  considered  to  be  normal  in  any 
way.  The  physical  processes  are  un-normal  and 
are  undergoing  a  change,  and  the  mental  facul- 
ties, too,  are  un-normal,  overwhelmed  as  they  are 
with  new  emotions  and  sensations.  The  nervous 
condition  is  marked  by  a  much  higher  nervous 
irritability,  which  contributes  to  a  condition  most 
favorable  for  the  rapid  progress  of  the  speech 
disorder,  always  easily  aggravated  by  a  sub- 
normal physical,  mental  or  nervous  condition. 
Cases  where  the  Intermittent  Tendency  is  a  pro- 
nounced characteristic  are  liable  at  this  period  to 
find  the  alternate  periods  of  relief  and  recurrence 
to  be  more  frequent  than  ever  before  and  to  note 
a  marked  tendency  of  their  trouble  to  recur  with 
constantly  increasing  malignancy.  Cases  that  at 
the  age  of  11  or  12,  for  instance,  might  have  been 
said  to  have  been  in  an  incipient  state,  have  com- 
monly been  known  at  this  age  to  pass  through 
the  successive  intermediate  stages  of  the  trouble 
and  become  of  a  deep-seated  and  chronic  nature 
in  a  surprisingly  short  period  of  time. 

In  some  cases  where  the  transition  from  a  sim- 
ple to  the  complex  form  of  the  difficulty  takes 
place  at  this  age,  it  is  found  that  the  disorder  has 
passed  beyond  the  curable  stage,  in  which  case, 


ITS   CAUSE  AND   CUKE  149 

of  course,  nothing  is  left  to  the  unfortunate  stam- 
merer but  the  prospects  of  a  lif  e  of  untold  misery 
and  torture,  deprived  of  companionship,  ostra- 
cized from  society  and  debarred  from  participa- 
tion in  either  business  or  the  professions. 

Chances  for  Outgrowing:  The  chances  for 
outgrowing  a  speech  disorder  at  this  age  are  con- 
siderably less  than  at  any  other  time  in  the  previ- 
ous life  of  the  individual.  The  unbalanced  gen- 
eral condition  tends  to  make  the  stammerer  more 
susceptible  instead  of  less  so.  As  previously  ex- 
plained, this  period  marks  the  time  when  speech 
disorders  progress  rapidly  from  bad  to  worse  and, 
as  a  consequence,  the  chances  for  outgrowing 
diminished  from  1  per  cent,  before  the  age  of  6  to 
practically  zero  after  the  age  of  12. 

Suggestions:  There  is  little  that  can  be  said 
for  the  good  of  the  young  person  at  these  ages. 
The  time  for  home  treatment  is  past.  The  simple 
suggestions  offered  for  the  assistance  of  those  in 
the  Formative  or  Speech-Setting  Periods  would 
be  of  little  value  here  because  the  growth  of  the 
individual  has  made  the  eradication  of  the  trouble 
quite  improbable  without  a  complete  re-education 


150  STAMMERING 

along  correct  speech  lines — best  obtained  from  an 
institution  devoting  its  efforts  to  that  work. 
Whatever  steps  are  taken,  however,  should  be 
taken  before  the  disorder  has  become  rooted  in 
the  muscular  and  nervous  system  and  before  it 
has  passed  into  the  Chronic  Stage. 


CHAPTER  XIII 

WHERE  DOES  STAMMERING  LEAD? 

IN  answering  the  question:     "Where  Does 
Stammering  Lead?"  nothing  truer  can  be 
found  than  the  words  of  a  man  who  has  stam- 
mered himself: 

"What  pen  can  depict  the  woefulnese,  the  intensified  suf- 
fering of  the  inveterate  stammerer,  confirmed,  stereotyped  in 
a  malady  seemingly  worse  than  death  f  Are  the  afflictions, 
mental  and  physical,  of  the  pelted,  brow-beaten,  down- 
trodden stutterer  imaginary?  Nonsense!  There  is  not  a 
word  of  truth  in  the  idea.  His  sufferings  all  the  time,  day 
in  and  day  out,  at  home  and  abroad,  are  real — intense — 
purgatorial.  And  none  but  those  who  have  drunk  the  bitter 
cup  to  its  dregs  feel  and  know  its  death,  death,  double 
death!  These  afflicted  ones  die  daily  and  the  graves  to  them 
seem  pleasant  and  delightful.  The  sufferings  of  the  deaf 
and  dumb  are  myths — but  a  drop  in  the  ocean  compared  to 
what  I  endured!  And  who  cared  for  me?  Who!  I  was  the 
laughing  stock,  a  subject  of  scoffing  and  ridicule,  often.  I 
could  fill  an  octavo  with  the  miseries  I  endured  from  early 
childhood  till  the  elapsement  of  forty  summers." 

Thus  does  the  Rev.  David  F.  Newton,  himself 
a  stammerer  for  forty  years,  speak  of  stammering 
and  stuttering  and  its  effects.  And  Charles 
Kingsley,  a  noted  English  divine  and  author  who 


152  STAMMEEING 

stammered,  paints  the  stammerer's  future  in 
words  of  experience  that  no  stammerer  should 
ever  forget: 

"The  stammerer's  life  is  a  life  of  misery,  growing  with 
hia  growth  and  deepening  as  his  knowledge  of  life  and  his 
aspirations  deepen.  One  comfort  he  has,  truly,  that  his  life 
will  not  be  a  long  one.  Some  may  smile  at  this  assertion; 
let  them  think  for  themselves.  How  many  old  people  have 
they  ever  heard  stammer?  I  have  known  but  two.  One  is  a 
very  slight  case,  the  other  a  very  severe  one.  He,  a  man  of 
fortune,  dragged  on  a  very  painful  and  pitiful  existence 
— nervous,  decrepit,  asthmatic — kept  alive  by  continual 
nursing.  Had  he  been  a  laboring  man,  he  would  have  died 
thirty  years  sooner  than  he  did." 

To  the  man  who  has  never  been  through  the  suf- 
fering that  results  from  stammering  or  who  has 
never  been  privileged  to  watch  the  careers  of 
stammerers  and  stutterers  over  a  period  of  years, 
these  final  results  of  stammering  seem  impossible. 
The  inexperienced  observer  can  only  ask  in  won- 
der: "How  can  stammering  or  stuttering  bring 
a  man  or  woman  to  these  depths  of  despair?" 

To  the  stammerer  who  has  but  begun  to  taste 
the  sorrows  of  a  stammerer's  life  these  effects  of 
stammering  appear  to  be  the  ultimate  result  of 
an  wnusual  case — never  the  inevitable  result  of 
his  own  trouble. 

Doubtless  if  Charles  Kingsley  were  with  us 


ITS   CAUSE   AND   CURE  153 

today,  he  could  look  back  and  tell  us  of  the  day 
when  he,  too,  was  sure  that  stammering  was  but 
a  trifle.  He,  too,  could  point  out  the  time  when 
he  felt  that  sometime,  somehow,  his  stammering 
would  magically  depart  and  leave  him  free  to  talk 
as  others  talked.  And  yet,  having  gone  down  the 
road  through  a  long  life  of  usefulness,  Kingsley's 
is  the  voice  of  a  mature  experience  which  says  to 
every  stammerer:  "Beware — there  are  pitfalls 
ahead  I"  And  this  man  is  right. 

Results  of  Stammering:  Experience  proves 
that  the  results  of  continued  stammering  or  stut- 
tering are  definite  and  positive,  and  that  they  are 
inevitable.  Stammering  is  known  to  be  at  the 
root  of  many  troubles.  It  causes  nervousness, 
self -consciousness  and  sometimes  brings  about  a 
mental  condition  bordering  on  complete  mental 
breakdown.  It  causes  mental  sluggishness,  dis- 
sipates the  power-of-concentration,  weakens  the 
power  of  will,  destroys  ambition  and  stands  be- 
tween the  sufferer  and  an  education. 

There  is  no  affliction  more  annoying  or  embar- 
rassing to  its  victim  than  stammering.  No  mat- 
ter how  bright  the  intellect  may  be,  if  the  tongue 
is  unable  easily  and  quickly  to  formulate  the 


154  STAMMERING 

words  expressing  thought,  the  individual  is  held 
back  in  business  and  is  debarred  from  the  pleas- 
ures of  social  and  home  life. 

Stammering  is  a  drawback  to  children  in 
school.  To  be  unable  to  recite  means  failure.  It 
means  humiliation.  It  means  disgrace  in  the  eyes 
of  the  other  pupils.  And  finally,  it  means  valu- 
able time  wasted — not  in  getting  an  education — 
but  in  suffering  untold  misery  in  TRYING  to 
get  one — and  failing. 

A  boy  fourteen  years  of  age,  who  has  failed  to 
advance  in  school,  and  who  finds  stammering  a 
handicap  of  serious  proportions,  tells  me : 

"I  am  fourteen  years  old  and  only  in  the  fifth  grade.  I 
am  afraid  to  recite  because  of  my  stuttering,  and  because 
of  my  not  reciting  when  my  teachers  call  on  me,  I  am  get- 
ting low  marks  in  school  and  do  not  know  if  I  will  ever  get 
through." 

One  mother  writes : 

"My  little  girl  will  not  go  to  Sunday  School  because  she 
does  not  like  the  other  children  to  look  at  her  so  straight 
when  she  stammers." 

A  boy  says : 

"I  am  thirteen  years  old  and  in  school.  I  am  afraid  to 
recite  because  of  my  stuttering;  and  because  of  my  not 
reciting  I  get  low  average  in  studies." 


ITS   CAUSE   AND   CUBE  155" 

Another  boy  told  me: 

"I  am  now  in  the  third  year  of  my  high  school  course. 
On  the  first  day  of  the  term  I  went  to  school,  I  made  sueh  a 
miserable  thing  of  myself  that  I  quit.  The  school  superin- 
tendent and  principal  saw  me  when  I  came  back  the  second 
day  as  I  was  carrying  my  books  out.  Of  course  they  stopped 
me  and  I  made  an  explanation.  I  couldn't  tell  any  of  the 
new  teachers  my  name.  It  was  impossible  to  make  any  kind 
of  a  recitation.  I  was  introduced  to  all  of  my  teachers  and 
have  been  stumbling  along  ever  since  with  grades  anywhere 
from  0  to  60." 

A  Social  Drawback:  No  stammerer  but  knows 
that  his  malady  marks  him  for  the  half-sup- 
pressed smiles  of  thoughtless  people  and  the 
unkind  remarks  of  those  who  really  know  nothing 
of  the  suffering  which  these  unkind  remarks 
occasion.  It  is  true,  but  unfortunate,  that  the 
stammerer  is  not  wanted  in  any  social  gathering, 
he  can  provide  no  entertainment,  save  at  his  own 
expense,  and  of  all  people  he  is  most  ill  at  ease 
when  out  among  others. 

A  young  lady  writes : 

"Mr.  Bogue,  I  would  give  one  of  my  eyes  to  get  rid  of 
stammering.  That  is  all  I  am  after.  Please  excuse  this 
awful  writing.  I  AM  SO  NEBVOUS  I  CAN  HAKDLY 
GET  THE  PEN  INTO  THE  INK  BOTTLE." 


156  STAMMERING 

Here  is  a  letter  from  one  man: 

"I  am  36  years  old,  and  have  stammered  for  28  years.  I 
don't  stammer  so  bad,  but  just  bad  enough  to  spoil  my  life. 
I  always  have  to  take  a  back  seat  in  company.  I  belong  to 
three  lodges,  but  I  do  not  take  part  in  any  of  them  because 
I  am  afraid  they  will  ask  me  to  take  part  in  the  order.  It 
would  make  me  feel  cheap.  I  have  often  felt  like  commit- 
ting suicide,  but  I  would  pull  my  nerves  together  and  make 
the  best  of  it  again.  I  am  now  a  janitor  at  a  school." 

Hopeless  in  Business:  There  is  not  a  young 
man  stammerer  in  this  whole  country  who  would 
not  work  night  and  day  to  be  cured  of  stammer- 
ing if  he  realized  the  hopelessness  of  trying  to  be 
a  success  in  a  business  way,  handicapped  by  stam- 
mering, unable  to  talk  fluently,  clearly  and  in- 
telligently. 

A  man  says: 

"I  am  33  years  old  and  single.  I  have  stammered  ever 
since  I  was  a  child.  It  has  made  me  nervous.  At  my  age 
it  is  very  embarrassing  to  me  to  stutter.  I  kept  getting 
more  nervous  from  year  to  year,  and  finally  I  have  had 
to  give  up  my  position.  I  was  a  long-hand  -biller  for  ten 
years,  but  I  am  now  troubled  with  writer's  cramp  and 
unable  to  do  much.  I  can't  get  a  clerk's  job  because  of  my 
stuttering." 

And  here  is  another — a  man  grown,  who  too  late 
realized  the  futility  of  trying  to  get  an  education 


ITS   CAUSE   AND   CURE  157 

while  yet  handicapped  by  stammering.    He  said, 
a  while  back: 

"I  must  say  my  stammering  has  spoiled  my  life  and 
robbed  me  of  a  successful  career.  I  would  give  much  if  my 
parents  bad  sent  me  to  be  cured  of  stammering  when  a  boy, 
instead  »f  trying  as  they  did  to  educate  me." 

Stammerer  Appears  Illiterate:  No  matter 
how  great  the  stammerer's  knowledge  may  be,  he 
often  appears  to  be  illiterate  simply  because  he  is 
unable  to  express  himself  in  words.  His  knowl- 
edge is  locked  up  by  his  infirmity,  the  same  as 
though  he  had  a  steel  band  drawn  over  his  mouth 
and  fastened  with  a  padlock  which  he  is  unable 
to  unlock  for  want  of  a  proper  key.  The  man 
with  the  locked-up  knowledge  is  under  as  great 
a  handicap  as  the  man  without  knowledge. 

A  man  who  had  a  chance  to  be  a  big  success  in 
business,  had  he  not  stammered,  says : 

"Stammering  is  the  cause  of  all  my  trouble.  My  earlier 
associates  have  shunned  me  for  several  years,  and  I  have 
sought  the  worst  class  of  dives  and  the  lowest  kind  of  com- 
panions, where  I  was  reasonably  certain  that  I  would  not 
come  in  contact  with  those  with  whom  I  had  associated  in 
earlier  years.  My  eyes  are  wet  with  tears — tears  of  remorse 
and  regret — because  I  see  no  chance  in  life  for  me  now." 

The  stammerer  who  thinks  that  success  comes  to 


158  STAMMERING 

the  man  who  stammers — who  believes  that  the 
business  world  is  willing  to  put  up  with  anything 
less  than  fluent  speech,  should  read  this  heart- 
broken letter  from  a  young  man: 

"I  am  a  bookkeeper,  and  dearly  love  my  work,  but  am 
afraid  that  I  am  going  to  have  to  give  it  up  because  my 
speech  is  getting  worse,  and  I  have  noticed  that  the  boss  has 
mentioned  it  to  me  a  couple  of  times  now,  and  it  almost 
breaks  my  heart  to  know  that  my  position  is  going  to  get 
away  from  me.  No  one  realizes  how  much  one  suffers,  and 
I'm  afraid  I'm  going  to  break  down  with  nervous  prostra- 
tion soon.  When  one  day  is  over  with  me,  I  wonder  how  I 
am  going  to  get  through  with  the  next  one." 

What  are  the  results  of  stammering?  Should 
anyone  ask  that  question,  I  could  point  to  in- 
stances in  my  own  experience  that  would  prove 
that  almost  every  undesirable  condition  of  human 
existence  may  be  the  result  of  stammering.  I 
have  seen  young  men  who  are  business  failures, 
dejected,  hopeless,  drifting  along,  men  who  in 
early  years  were  intellectual  giants,  and  who 
before  their  death  were  mere  children  in  mental 
power,  because  they  allowed  stammering  to 
destroy  every  valuable  faculty  they  possessed. 

I  could  point  to  children  whom  stammering 
had  held  back  almost  from  the  time  they  began 
to  talk — give  cases  of  young  men  depressed,  em- 


ITS   CAUSE   AND   CURE  159 

barrassed,  unsuccessful,  because  they  stammer — 
cite  instances  of  all  the  worth-while  things  in  life 
turned  from  the  path  of  a  young  woman  because 
she  stammered. 

Yet  in  the  past,  not  one  of  these  knew  what 
was  coming.  Not  one  realized  where  the  trail 
was  leading.  No  stammerer  can  of  himself  see 
into  the  future.  But  he  can,  at  least,  look  into 
the  future  of  others,  who,  like  himself,  are  stam- 
merers, and  avoid  the  pitfalls  into  which  they  have 
fallen  and  save  himself  the  mistakes  they  have 
made. 


PART  in 

THE  CURE  OF  STAMMERING 
AND   STUTTERING 


CHAPTER  I 

CAN  STAMMERING  BEALLY  BE  CUBED? 

IT  has  only  been  a  few  years  since  the  impres- 
sion was  abroad  that  stammering  was  incur- 
able. Not  a  particle  of  hope  was  held  out  to  the 
afflicted  individual  that  any  semblance  of  a  cure 
was  possible  by  any  method.  This  erroneous  idea 
that  stammering  could  not  be  cured  grew  up  in 
the  mind  of  the  average  person  as  a  result  of  one 
or  all  of  the  following  conditions : 

1st — The  inability  of  the  stammerer  to  cure  himself  and 
his  further  inability  to  outgrow  the  trouble,  (although  he 
was  repeatedly  told  that  he  would  outgrow  it)  was  the 
first  reason  that  led  to  the  foolish  and  totally  unfounded 
belief  that  stammering  could  not  be  cured. 

2nd — The  principles  of  speech  and  the  un-normal  condition 
known  as  stammering  have  been  surrounded  with  a  great 
deal  of  mystery  in  the  years  gone  by.  The  idea  has  been 
widely  prevalent  that  the  affliction  was  one  sent  by  Provi- 


ITS   CAUSE   AND   CUKE  161 

deuce  aa  a  punishment  for  some  act  committed  by  the 
sufferer  or  his  forbears.  This  and  many  other  ideas  bor- 
dering upon  superstition,  are  responsible,  too,  to  a  great 
degree  for  the  belief  that  stammering  is  incurable. 

3rd — Even  if  an  attempt  to  cure  stammering  was  made,  this 
attempt  was  based  upon  the  ' '  supposition ' '  that  stammer- 
ing was  a  physical  trouble,  due  to  some  defect  in  the 
organs  of  speech.  It  followed  that  since  no  one  was  ever 
able  to  discover  any  physical  defect,  no  one  knew  the  true 
cause  of  the  disorder,  nor  how  to  treat  it  successfully. 

4th — Unfortunately  there  have  been  in  the  field  a  number  of 
irresponsible  charlatans,  preying  upon  the  stammerer  with 
claims  to  cure,  while  in  fact  they  knew  little  or  nothing  of 
the  disorder,  had  never  stammered  themselves,  nor  had  the 
slightest  knowledge  of  the  correct  methods  of  procedure 
in  the  cure  of  stammering.  The  failure  of  such  as  these 
to  do  any  good  led  to  a  widespread  belief  that  there  was 
no  successful  method  for  the  eradication  of  speech  dis- 
orders. 

From  an  experience  covering  more  than  twenty- 
eight  years,  during  which  time  the  author  has  cor- 
responded with  210,000  persons  who  stammer  and 
has  personally  met  and  diagnosed  about  22,000 
cases,  it  has  been  proved  that  all  of  these  beliefs 
are  fallacies  of  the  worst  character.  Given  any 
person  who  stutters  or  stammers  and  who  has  no 
organic  defect  and  is  as  intelligent  as  the  average 
child  of  eight  years,  it  has  been  found  that  the 
Unit  Method  of  Restoring  Speech  will  eradicate 


162  STAMMERING 

the  trouble  at  its  source  and  by  removing  the 
cause,  entirely  remove  the  defective  utterance. 

The  Stammerer's  Case  Not  Hopeless:  Stam- 
merers should  fix  this  fact  firmly  in  mind :  Stam- 
mering can  be  cured!  There  is  hope,  positive, 
definite  hope  for  every  case — this  fact  is  based  on 
every  imaginable  form  of  stuttering  or  stammer- 
ing. It  is  not,  in  other  words,  a  mere  idle  state- 
ment based  on  theory  or  guess-work,  but  a  mathe- 
matical truth,  taken  from  experience. 

I  recall  very  well  the  case  of  a  man  of  32  who 
<came  to  me  for  help  after  five  of  the  so-called 
schools  for  stammerers  had  failed  to  afford  him 
any  relief.  Quite  naturally  this  man  was  a  con- 
firmed skeptic.  He  did  not  believe  that  there  was 
any  cure  for  him.  Anyone  who  had  been  through 
the  trials  that  he  had  experienced  would  have  felt 
the  same  way.  But  he  placed  himself  under  treat- 
ment, nevertheless,  and  in  a  few  weeks'  time,  the 
Unit  Method  had  restored  him  to  perfect  speech. 
He  left  entirely  convinced  that  stammering  could 
be  cured,  because  it  had  been  done  in  his  own  case 
which  had  so  long  seemed  beyond  all  hope. 

Many  years  afterward,  he  wrote  a  letter  which 
I  take  the  liberty  of  reproducing  here  for  the 


ITS   CAUSE   AND   CURE  163 

encouragement  and  inspiration  of  everyone  who 
is  similarly  afflicted  and  who  feels  as  this  man  felt 
— that  he  is  incurable : 

"I  tried  to  be  cured  of  stammering  at  five  different  times 
by  five  different  men  at  a  total  cost  of  more  than  one  thou- 
sand dollars.  None  of  them  cured  me.  Then  I  decided  to 
try  the  Unit  Method.  Nine  years  ago  I  did  so — a  decision 
that  I  have  never  regretted.  It  was  evident  that  this  method 
was  based  on  a  comprehensive  knowledge  of  the  art  of 
speech.  I  am  now  a  piano  salesman  and  talk  by  the  hour 
all  day  long;  talk  over  the  telephone  perfectly;  and  many 
tell  me  that  I  speak  more  distinctly  than  the  majority  of 
people  who  have  never  stammered.  I  believe  this  is  because 
I  was  taught  through  the  Unit  Method  the  very  funda- 
mentals of  speech." 

This  man's  case  is  typical  of  the  hundreds  of  fail- 
ures-to-cure  which  are  responsible  for  the  belief 
that  stammering  cannot  be  cured.  The  fact  that 
he  had  made  five  separate  attempts  to  be  cured 
would,  in  the  mind  of  the  average  man,  establish 
the  fact  that  stammering  cannot  be  cured  and  yet 
it  is  seen  that  even  in  this  extreme  case,  under  the 
application  of  the  proper  scientific  methods,  the 
stammerer  found  freedom  of  speech  without 
unusual  difficulty  and  in  a  comparatively  short 
time. 


11 


CHAPTER  II 

CASES  THAT  "CUBE  THEMSELVES*' 

NOT  infrequently  from  some  source  will  be 
heard  a  story,  many  times  retold,  to  the 
effect  that  "So-and-so"  who  stammered  for  many 
years  has  been  cured — that  the  trouble  has 
magically  disappeared  and  that  he  stammers  no 
longer. 

What  is  the  cause  of  this?  What  brings  about 
such  a  miraculous  cure? 

The  answer  depends  upon  the  case.  Usually, 
the  story  is  much  more  a  story  than  a  fact.  Few 
indeed  have  been  the  stammerers  who  have  ever 
actually  heard  the  man  stammer  before  "his 
trouble  cured  itself"  and  then  heard  him  talk  per- 
fectly afterwards.  Like  the  stories  of  haunted 
houses,  there  is  nothing  to  substantiate  the  truth 
of  the  statement,  there  is  no  evidence  by  which 
the  story  may  be  checked  up. 

In  the  rare  cases  where  the  facts  would  seem 
to  indicate  the  truth  of  the  statement,  it  will  be 
found  that  the  person  in  question  never  really 
stammered — that  his  trouble  was  something  else 


ITS   CAUSE   AND   CURE  165 

— lalling,  lisping,  or  some  defect  of  speech  that 
was  mistaken  for  stammering  or  stuttering. 

Another  case  of  apparent  miraculous  cure  is 
the  case  of  the  stammerer  who,  finding  him- 
self unable  to  say  words  beginning  with  certain 
letters,  begins  the  practice  of  substituting  easy 
sounds  for  those  that  are  difficult  and  thus,  pro- 
vided he  has  only  a  slight  case,  leads  many  to 
believe  that  he  talks  almost  perfectly.  This  fel- 
low is  known  as  the  "Synonym  Stammerer"  and 
is  usually  a  quick  thinker  and  a  ready  "substi- 
tuter-of -words."  If  he  has  stammered  noticeably 
for  some  time  until  those  in  his  vicinity  have 
become  acquainted  with  his  affliction,  and  then 
discovers  the  plan  of  substituting  easy  sounds  for 
hard  ones,  he  may  for  a  time  conceal  his  impedi- 
ment and  lead  certain  of  his  friends  to  believe 
that  he  no  longer  stammers. 

This  "Synonym  Stammerer"  is  storing  up  end- 
less trouble  for  himself,  however,  for  the  mental 
strain  of  trying  to  remember  and  speak  syno- 
nyms of  hard  words  entails  such  a  great  drain 
upon  his  mind  as  to  make  it  almost  impossible  to 
maintain  the  practice  for  any  great  length  of 
time.  In  this  connection,  let  every  stammerer  be 


166  STAMMERING 

warned  to  avoid  this  practice  of  substitution  of 
words.  It  is  a  seeming  way  out  of  difficulty  some- 
times, but  you  will  find  that  you  are  only  making 
your  malady  worse  and  laying  up  difficulties  for 
yourself  in  the  future. 


CHAPTER  III 

CASES  THAT  CANNOT  BE  CUBED 

IN  an  experience  in  meeting  stammerers  and  in 
curing  stammering  it  is  only  natural  to  as- 
sume that  I  have  come  across  certain  cases  which 
could  not  be  cured.  It  is  only  natural,  too,  to 
expect  that  in  such  a  wide  experience  it  would  be 
possible  to  determine  what  cases  are  incurable 
and  why. 

Cases  of  incurable  speech  impediments  may  be 
divided  into  seven  classes : 

(1)— Those  with  organic  defects; 

(2) — Those  with  diseased  condition  of  the 
brain; 

(3) — Those  who  have  postponed  treatment 
until  their  malady  has  progressed  so 
far  into  the  chronic  stage  as  to  make 
treatment  valueless ; 

(4) — Those  who  refuse  to  obey  instructions; 

(5) — Those  who  persist  in  dissipation,  re- 
gardless of  effects; 

(6) — Those  of  below  normal  intelligence; 


168  STAMMERING 

(7) — Those  who  will  not  make  the  effort  to 
be  cured. 

Stutterers  and  stammerers  whose  trouble  arises 
from  an  organic  defect  are  so  few  as  to  be  almost 
an  exception,  but  where  those  cases  exist,  they 
must  be  regarded  as  incurable.  The  re-educa- 
tional process  used  in  the  successful  method  of 
curing  stuttering  and  stammering  will  not  replace 
a  defective  organ  of  the  body  with  a  new  one.  It 
will  not  cure  harelip  or  cleft  palate,  nor  will  it 
loosen  the  tongue  of  the  child  who  has  been  hope- 
lessly tongue-tied  from  birth. 

A  boy  was  brought  to  me  some  years  ago  by 
his  parents  in  the  hope  that  his  speech  trouble 
might  be  eradicated,  but  it  was  found  upon  exam- 
ination that  he  had  always  been  tongue-tied  and 
that  the  deformity  would  not  permit  of  the 
normal,  natural  movements  of  the  tongue  neces- 
sary to  proper  speaking.  I  immediately  told  the 
parents  the  unfortunate  condition  of  their  son  and 
frankly  stated  that  in  his  condition  there  was  no 
possibility  of  my  being  able  to  help  him. 

Diseased  Brain:  Taking  up  the  second  class — 
those  who  have  a  diseased  condition  of  the  brain 


ITS   CAUSE  AND   CURE  169 

— these  cases,  too,  are  very  rare.  I  have  met  but 
a  comparatively  few.  Where  a  lesion  of  the  brain 
has  occurred,  and  a  distinct  change  has  thus  been 
brought  about  in  the  physical  structure  of  that 
organ,  an  attempt  to  bring  about  a  cure  would  be 
a  waste  of  time — hopeless  from  the  start. 

Tlie  Procrastinators :  The  third  type  of  incur- 
able cases  is  that  of  the  stammerer  or  stutterer 
who,  against  all  advice  and  experience,  has  per- 
sisted in  the  belief  that  his  trouble  would  be  out- 
grown and  who  has  by  this  means  allowed  the 
disorder  to  progress  so  far  into  the  chronic  stage 
as  to  make  treatment  entirely  without  effect. 

This  type  of  incurable  is  very  numerous.  They 
usually  start  in  childhood  with  a  case  of  simple 
stuttering  which,  if  treated  then,  could  be  eradi- 
cated quickly  and  easily.  From  this  stage  they 
usually  pass  into  the  trouble  of  a  compound 
nature,  known  as  combined  stammering  and  stut- 
tering. Here,  also,  their  malady  would  yield 
readily  to  proper  methods  of  treatment,  but 
instead  of  giving  it  the  attention  so  badly  needed, 
they  allow  it  to  pass  into  a  severe  case  of  Spas- 
modic Stammering,  and  from  this  into  the  most 


170  STAMMERING 

chronic  stage  of  that  trouble.  The  malady  be- 
comes rooted  in  the  muscular  system.  The  nerv- 
ous strain  and  continued  fear  tear  down  all 
semblance  of  mental  control  and  in  time  the  suf- 
ferer is  in  a  condition  that  is  hopeless  indeed,  a 
condition  where  he  is  subject  for  the  pity  and 
the  sympathy  of  every  one  who  stammers,  and 
yet  a  condition  brought  on  purely  by  his  own 
neglect  and  wilfulness. 

I  recall  the  case  of  a  father  who  brought  his 
boy  of  16  to  see  me  some  years  ago.  At  that 
time,  the  boy  represented  one  of  the  worst  cases 
of  stammering  I  ever  saw.  He  could  scarcely 
speak  at  all.  He  made  awful  contortions  of  the 
face  and  body  when  attempting  to  speak.  When 
he  succeeded  in  uttering  sounds,  these  resembled 
the  deep  bark  of  a  dog.  These  sounds  were 
totally  unintelligible,  save  upon  rare  occasions, 
when  he  would  be  able  to  speak  clearly  enough 
to  make  himself  understood.  I  gave  the  boy  the 
most  searching  personal  diagnosis  and  very  care- 
fully inspected  his  condition  both  mental  and 
physical,  after  which  I  was  convinced  that  he 
could  be  cured,  with  time  and  persistent  work. 
The  father  was  given  the  result  of  my  findings 


ITS   CAUSE   AND   CURE  171 

and  told  of  the  boy's  condition.  He  decided  to 
take  the  boy  home,  talk  the  matter  over  and  place 
him  under  my  care  the  next  week.  Ten  days 
later  he  wrote  me  saying  that  the  boy  had  secured 
a  job  in  a  garage  at  $6  a  week  and  could  not 
think  about  being  cured  of  stammering  at  that 
time. 

Two  and  a  half  years  later — the  boy  was  near- 
ing  twenty — I  saw  him  again,  and  even  after  all 
my  experience  in  meeting  stammerers,  could 
hardly  believe  that  stammering  could  bring  about 
such  a  terrible  condition  as  this  boy  was  in  at  that 
time.  His  mental  faculties  were  entirely  shat- 
tered. His  concentration  was  gone.  This  poor 
boy  was  merely  a  blubbering,  stumbling  idiot,  a 
sight  to  move  the  stoutest  heart,  a  living  example 
of  the  result  of  carelessness  and  parental  neglect. 
Needless  to  say,  I  would  not  consider  his  treat- 
ment in  such  a  condition.  There  was  no  longer 
any  foundation  to  build  on — no  longer  the 
slightest  chance  for  benefiting  the  boy  in  the  least. 

The  Wilfully  Disobedient  Cases:  Taking  up 
the  fourth  class  of  incurables,  those  who  refuse  to 
obey  instructions — I  can  only  say  that  such  as 


172  STAMMERING 

these  are  not  deserving  of  a  cure.  They  are  not 
sincere,  they  are  not  willing  to  hold  themselves  to 
the  simplest  program  no  matter  how  great  might 
be  the  resultant  good.  They  spend  their  own 
money  or  the  money  of  their  parents  foolishly, 
get  no  results  and  disgust  the  instructor  who 
spends  his  or  her  efforts  in  trying  to  bring  about 
a  cure,  against  obstacles  that  no  one  can  over- 
come, viz. :  unwillingness  to  do  as  told.  The  old 
saying  that  "You  can  lead  a  horse  to  water,  but 
you  can't  make  him  drink"  applies  most  force- 
fully to  the  case  of  the  wilfully  disobedient  stam- 
merer. You  can  instruct  this  individual  in  the 
methods  to  bring  about  a  cure,  but  you  can't 
make  him  follow  them. 

I  well  remember  one  case  in  point.  A  young 
man  of  20  years  came  to  me  apparently  with 
every  desire  in  the  world  to  be  cured  of  stammer- 
ing. The  first  day  he  followed  instructions  with 
great  care,  seemed  to  take  a  wonderful  interest 
in  his  work  and  at  the  end  of  the  day  expressed 
to  me  his  pleasure  in  finding  himself  improved 
even  with  one  day's  work.  By  the  third  day,  the 
novelty  had  worn  off  and  his  "smart-aleck"  tend- 
encies began  to  come  to  the  surface.  He  was 


ITS   CAUSE   AND   CURE  173 

impertinent.  He  was  impudent.  He  was  rude. 
He  failed  to  come  to  his  work  promptly  in  the 
morning,  was  late  at  meals,  stayed  out  at  night 
beyond  the  time  limit  set  by  the  dormitory  rules 
and  persisted  in  doing  everything  in  an  irregular 
and  wilfully  disobedient  manner. 

I  was  not  inclined  to  dismiss  him"  because  of 
his  misconduct,  because  it  was  evident  that  here 
was  a  boy  of  more  than  ordinary  native  intelli- 
gence, a  fine-looking  chap  with  untold  opportu- 
nities ahead  of  him,  if  he  were  cured  of  stammer- 
ing. So  I  put  up  with  his  misdeeds  for  many 
days,  until  one  morning  I  decided  that  either  he 
must  come  to  time  or  return  to  his  home — and  he 
elected  to  take  the  latter  course. 

In  looking  up  this  boy's  record  later  on,  it  was 
found  that  he  was  incorrigible,  that  his  parents 
had  never  been  successful  in  controlling  him  at 
any  time  and  that  he  had  been  expelled  from 
school  twice. 

There  is  no  need  for  me  to  say  that  this  boy 
was  afflicted  with  something  even  worse  than 
stammering — something  that  science  was  not  able 
to  help — i.  e.,  a  lack  of  sense.  His  case  was  incur- 
able, just  as  much  so  as  if  an  inch  of  his  tongue 


174  STAMMERING 

had  been  sheared  off.  With  such  stammerers  as 
this  I  have  neither  patience  nor  sympathy.  They 
have  no  respect  or  consideration  for  others  and 
are  consequently  entitled  to  none  themselves. 

The  Chronic  Dissipator:  The  fifth  type  of  in- 
curable might  be  called  the  "chronic  dissipator" 
and  his  stammering  is  hopelessly  incurable  just 
as  far  as  his  habits  are  incurable.  The  person 
who  persists  in  undermining  his  mental  and 
physical  being  with  dissipation  and  who,  when  he 
knows  the  results  of  his  doings,  will  not  cease, 
cannot  hope  to  be  cured  of  stammering.  Cases 
such  as  these  I  do  not  attempt  to  treat.  They 
are  neither  wanted  nor  accepted. 

I  recall  the  case  of  a  man  of  32,  a  big,  stalwart 
fellow,  who  came  to  me  about  two  years  ago  with 
a  very  severe  case  of  combined  stammering  and 
stuttering.  He  made  his  plans  to  place  himself 
under  my  care  but  before  getting  back,  fell  a  vic- 
tim to  his  inordinate  appetite  for  drink  and  was 
laid  up  for  a  week.  His  wife  wrote  me  the  cir- 
cumstances, told  me  it  had  been  going  on  for  nine 
years  and  that  all  efforts  to  eradicate  the  appetite 
had  failed.  I  immediately  advised  her  that  I  con- 


ITS   CAUSE   AND   CURE  175 

sidered  his  case  incurable  and  could  not  accept 
him  for  treatment.  In  such  cases,  a  cure  is  built 
upon  too  shallow  and  uncertain  a  foundation  to 
offer  any  hope  of  being  permanent. 

Below  Normal  Intelligence:  There  is  another 
incurable  case  which  must  be  included  if  we  are 
to  complete  this  list  of  the  incurable  forms  of 
speech  impediments.  That  is  the  case  of  the 
stammerer  who  is  of  below  normal  intelligence. 
These  cases  are  very  rare  and  I  do  not  recall  but 
four  instances  where  a  case  has  been  diagnosed 
as  incurable  on  account  of  the  lack  of  intelligence. 
This  is  a  direct  refutation  of  the  statement  that 
stammerers  are  naturally  below  normal  in  mental 
ability.  Out  of  more  than  twenty-six  years'  ex- 
perience in  meeting  stammerers  by  the  thousands, 
I  can  say  most  emphatically  that  stammerers  as  a 
class  are  not  naturally  below  normal  intelligence 
or  mental  power,  save  as  their  trouble  may  have 
affected  their  concentration  or  will-power. 

The  Lackadaisical:  The  last  and  largest  class 
of  incurable  cases  of  stammering  are  those  who 
will  not  make  the  effort  to  be  cured.  These  are 


176  STAMMERING 

the  spineless,  the  unsure,  the  cowards,  who  are 
afraid  to  try  anything  for  fear  it  will  not  be  suc- 
cessful. 

They  are  usually  afflicted  with  a  malady  worse 
than  stammering  or  stuttering — "indecision" — a 
malady  for  which  science  has  found  no  remedy. 
Knowing  the  dire  results  of  continued  stammer- 
ing, still  they  stammer.  Reason  fails  to  move 
them  to  the  necessary  effort.  Common  sense 
makes  no  appeal.  Well,  indeed,  in  such  cases, 
may  we  paraphrase  the  words  of  Dr.  Russell  H. 
Conwell  and  say: 

"There  is  nothing  in  the  world  that  can  prevent 
you  from  being  cured  of  stammering  but  YOURSELF. 
Neither  heredity,  environment  or  any  of  the  obstacles  super- 
imposed by  man  can  keep  you  from  marching  straight 
through  to  a  cure  if  you  are  guided  by  a  firm,  driving 
determination  and  have  health  and  normal  intelligence." 

These  seven  classes  of  incurable  cases  complete 
the  list.  And  the  number  of  such  cases,  all  taken 
together,  is  so  small  as  to  be  almost  out  of  con- 
sideration. For,  out  of  a  thousand  cases  of  stut- 
tering and  stammering  examined,  I  find  but  2  per 
cent,  with  organic  defects  or  of  an  incurable  na- 
ture. In  other  words,  98  per  cent,  can  be  com- 
pletely and  permanently  cured. 


CHAPTER  IV 

CAN  STAMMERING  BE  CUBED  BY  MAIL? 

IN  the  years  past  there  have  been  attempts 
from  time  to  time  to  induce  the  stammerer  to 
seek  a  cure  for  his  impediment  in  mail  order 
treatments.  As  has  already  been  told,  I  was  the 
victim  of  one  of  these  so-called  "correspondence- 
cures"  and  know  something  about  them  from  per- 
sonal experience. 

In  the  first  place,  the  sufferer  usually  takes  up 
with  the  mail  order  specialist  because  this  man 
retails  his  "profound"  knowledge  at  a  low  rate,  a 
rate  so  low  that  even  a  single  thought  on  the  sub- 
ject would  convince  anyone  that  his  money  was 
buying  a  few  sheets  of  paper  but  no  professional 
knowledge  or  experience. 

The  very  best  correspondence  course  I  have 
ever  known  anything  about  was  not  as  good  as  a 
number  of  books  on  elocution  that  are  available 
in  any  good  library.  Usually  these  courses  are 
written  by  some  charlatan  who  is  in  business  as  a 
mail-order-man  selling  trinkets  and  stammering 
cures  or  running  a  general  correspondence  school, 


178  STAMMEEING 

teaching  not  only  how  to  cure  stammering  by 
correspondence  but  giving  courses  in  "Hair- 
Waving"  and  "How  to  Become  a  Detective."  It 
is  needless  for  me  to  say  that  such  as  these  are  in 
the  business,  not  for  the  good  of  the  stammerer 
nor  even  for  the  purpose  of  helping  him,  but  sim- 
ply for  the  money  that  can  be  extracted  from  the 
stammerer  or  stutterer. 

The  Difference:  There  are  two  main  differ- 
ences, however,  between  the  books  which  the 
stammerer  may  read  without  cost  and  the  cor- 
respondence course  for  which  he  pays  out  his 
good  money — many  dollars  of  it.  The  corre- 
spondence course  has  been  written  by  a  man  who 
knew  little  or  nothing  of  the  subject,  and  who 
put  out  a  course  for  stammerers  only  because  he 
knew  something  of  the  number  of  stammerers  in 
his  territory  and  said  to  himself,  "My,  but  I 
ought  to  be  able  to  sell  them  a  mail-order  cure." 
Forthwith  he  sits  down  and  writes  a  course — it 
isn't  necessary  to  have  anything  in  it  at  all. 
Often  these  men  do  not  even  take  the  trouble  to 
consult  reliable  books  on  the  subject.  They  do 
not  profess  to  know  anything  about  stammering 
or  stuttering,  their  cause  or  their  cure.  They 


ITS   CAUSE   AND   CURE  179 

simply  sit  down  and  write — and  when  they  have 
it  written,  they  send  it  to  the  printer,  have  it 
printed  and  then  split  these  printed  sheets  up  into 
ten,  or  twenty,  or  fifty,  or  a  hundred  lessons — 
whatever  their  fancy  may  dictate,  and  begin  to 
sell  them.  They  have  no  thought  of  the  results — 
results  to  them  mean  nothing  save  the  number  of 
courses  that  can  be  sold — and  whether  or  not  a 
single  iota  of  good  accrues  to  the  stammerer  from 
this  expenditure  of  money  is  one  of  the  things 
in  which  the  correspondence  school  stammering 
specialist  is  not  at  all  interested. 

The  most  that  can  be  expected  from  the  very 
best  mail  course  for  the  cure  of  stammering  is 
that  the  subscriber  will  receive  information  worth 
as  much  as  that  which  might  be  in  a  library  book. 
He  receives  this  in  installments  and  for  privilege 
of  reading  it  piece-meal,  pays  from  $50  to  $100. 

It  is  hopeless  to  try  to  cure  stammering  or  stut- 
tering by  any  method  unless  the  instructor  knows 
his  business.  And  this  knowledge  comes  not  by 
chance  but  by  long,  hard  study. 

Mail  Cures  a  Failure:  No  stammerer  should 
attempt  to  be  cured  by  any  correspondence 
method.  When  the  decision  has  been  made  to 


12 


180  STAMMERING 

have  a  speech  defect  removed,  the  sufferer  should 
place  himself  under  the  care  of  a  reputable  insti- 
tution, the  past  record  of  which  entitles  it  to  con- 
sideration. Correspondence  cures  are  a  waste  of 
money,  a  waste  of  time  and  finally  leave  the 
stammerer  with  the  firm-founded  belief  that  his 
trouble  is  absolutely  incurable,  when,  as  a  matter 
of  fact,  he  may  have  a  comparatively  simple  form 
of  stuttering  or  stammering  which  could  be 
quickly  eradicated  by  the  proper  institutional 
treatment. 

At  no  time  should  the  stammerer  resort  to  the 
use  of  any  mechanical  contrivance  to  aid  him  in 
speaking  correctly.  The  cause  of  the  trouble 
as  previously  explained,  is  inco-ordination.  Me- 
chanical contrivances  to  hold  the  tongue  in  a  cer- 
tain position,  elevate  the  palate  or  for  any  other 
purpose  may  be  positively  harmful  and  should  be 
strictly  avoided — always. 


CHAPTER  V 

THE  IMPORTANCE  OF  EXPEET  DIAGNOSIS 

A  DIAGNOSIS  is  an  examination  or  analy- 
sis to  determine  the  identity  of  a  disease 
and  to  reveal  its  cause  and  characteristics.  A 
reputable  medical  man  will  not  undertake  the 
treatment  of  any  malady  without  having  first 
made  a  searching  examination  and  a  thorough 
diagnosis  of  the  trouble. 

In  the  case  of  the  stammerer  or  stutterer,  ex- 
pert diagnosis  is  very  important  and  should  be 
undertaken  only  by  a  diagnostician  who  has  had 
previous  training  and  experience  of  sufficient 
duration  to  enable  him  to  be  classed  as  an  expert 
on  the  subject.  No  stammerer  or  stutterer,  how- 
ever, should  overlook  the  value  of  such  diagnosis, 
for  the  reason  that  there  are  so  many  forms  of 
speech  disorders  that  it  is  totally  impossible  as 
well  as  unsafe  for  the  sufferer  himself  to  try  to 
determine  the  exact  nature  of  his  trouble. 

I  recall  the  case  of  a  certain  young  man  who 
had  depended  upon  his  own  knowledge  to  deter- 
mine the  identity  of  his  speech  defect  and  the 


182  STAMMERING 

nature  of  his  trouble.  When  a  boy,  he  had  swal- 
lowed a  small  program  pencil  with  a  metal  tip, 
injuring  his  vocal  cords,  so  he  said,  and  causing 
him  to  become  a  stammerer.  An  examination  of 
his  condition  and  a  careful  diagnosis  of  his  case 
revealed  the  fact  that  his  vocal  organs  were  as 
normal  as  those  of  any  person  who  had  never 
stammered.  The  diagnosis  also  revealed  the  fact 
that  his  stammering  was  not  originally  caused  by 
any  organic  defect  or  any  injury  to  the  vocal 
organs,  but  that,  on  the  other  hand,  he  had,  in 
the  first  place,  inherited  a  predisposition  to  stam- 
mer, his  father  and  his  grandfather  both  having 
been  stammerers  whose  trouble  had  never  been 
remedied.  The  diagnosis  showed  that  the  onset 
of  the  trouble  immediately  after  swallowing  the 
pencil  was  due  chiefly  to  the  nervous  shock  and 
fright  caused  by  the  accident,  which,  in  conjunc- 
tion, with  the  inherited  predisposition  toward 
stammering,  was  too  much  for  the  boy's  mental 
control  and  he  immediately  developed  into  a 
stammerer.  The  young  man  had  believed  for 
many  years  that  his  defective  utterance  was 
totally  incurable,  that  it  was  due  to  an  organic 
defect  which  could  not  be  remedied.  The  diag- 


ITS   CAUSE   AND   CURE  183 

nosis  quickly  revealed,  however,  that  a  very  dif- 
ferent condition  was  responsible  for  his  trouble 
and  as  a  consequence,  he  found  himself  able  to  be 
cured  where,  without  expert  diagnosis,  he  had 
resigned  himself  to  a  life  as  a  stammerer. 

Another  case  which  also  shows  the  stammerer's 
inability  to  diagnose  his  own  trouble  accurately 
was  that  of  a  woman  who  persistently  refused  to 
allow  her  son  to  have  his  case  diagnosed,  because 
of  her  belief  that  he  was  incurable  and  that  the 
diagnosis  would  be  a  waste  of  time  and  money. 

After  months  of  coaxing,  however,  he  suc- 
ceeded in  getting  her  to  consent  and  I  gave  him  a 
thorough  diagnosis  and  report  on  his  condition. 
This  mother  had  been  unduly  alarmed — the  boy 
was  still  in  a  curable  stage  and  in  fact  completed 
the  necessary  work  in  much  less  than  the  usual 
time.  This  is  but  another  case  that  shows  the 
loss  which  comes  from  not  knowing  the  truth. 

Written  Report  of  Diagnosis  Valuable:  It  is 
well  to  get  a  personal  diagnosis  of  the  case  where 
possible,  but  if  this  cannot  be  done,  a  written  his- 
tory of  the  case,  together  with  a  statement  of  the 
symptoms  and  present  condition,  should  enable 


184  STAMMERING 

the  expert  diagnostician  of  speech  defects  to 
make  a  thorough  and  reliable  diagnosis  of  the 
trouble. 

This  diagnosis,  to  be  of  the  most  value  to  the 
stammerer  or  stutterer,  should  be  made  up  in  the 
form  of  a  written  report,  so  that  the  information 
may  be  in  permanent  form  and  so  that  the  suf- 
ferer can  study  his  own  case  in  all  its  angles. 

What  Diagnosis  Should  Show:  First  of  all, 
of  course,  the  diagnosis  should  identify  and  label 
your  trouble.  It  should  tell  what  form  of  speech 
defect  is  revealed  by  the  symptoms;  it  should  tell 
the  cause  of  the  trouble;  the  stage  it  is  now  in; 
should  indicate  whether  or  not  there  is  any  or- 
ganic defect;  should  give  information  as  to  the 
possibilities  of  outgrowing  the  trouble;  and,  most 
important  of  all,  should  state  whether  or  not  the 
disorder  is  in  a  curable  stage. 

When  it  is  remembered  that  nearly  a  dozen 
more  or  less  common  speech  disorders  can  be 
named,  almost  in  one  breath,  and  that  some  of 
these  disorders  may  pass  through  four  or  five  suc- 
cessive stages,  it  will  be  seen  that  an  expert  diag- 
nosis and  report  is  almost  a  necessity  to  the  stam- 


ITS   CAUSE  AND   CURE  185 

merer  or  stutterer  who  would  have  reliable  and 
authoritative  information  about  his  speech  dis- 
order. 

The  stammerer  or  stutterer  who  voluntarily 
remains  in  the  dark,  who  is  satisfied  with  gross 
ignorance  of  his  trouble,  is  surely  not  on  the  road 
to  freedom  of  speech. 

The  most  able  man  cannot  decide  correctly 
without  the  facts.  To  decide  in  the  absence  of 
information  is  guesswork — and  guesswork  is  a 
poor  method  of  deciding  what  to  do — in  the  case 
of  the  stammerer  as  in  every  other  case. 

Therefore,  it  behooves  the  stammerer  to  be- 
come enlightened  to  as  great  an  extent  as  pos- 
sible, to  banish  ignorance  of  his  trouble  and 
replace  it  with  facts  and  sound  knowledge. 


CHAPTER  VI 

THE  SECRET  OF  CUEING  STUTTERING  AND 
STAMMERING 

IF  the  reader  has  followed  this  work  carefully 
up  to  this  point,  he  is  now  informed  on  the 
causes  of  stuttering  and  stammering,  on  their 
characteristic  tendencies  and  their  peculiarities. 
We  are  now  ready  to  ask,  "What  are  the  correct 
methods  for  the  cure  of  stuttering  and  stammer- 
ing?" and  to  answer  that  question  authoritatively. 
As  to  the  successful  mode  of  procedure  in  de- 
termining the  proper  methods  for  the  cure  of 
stuttering  and  stammering,  I  know  of  no  sug- 
gestion better  than  that  offered  by  Alexander 
Melville  Bell,  who  says: 

"The  rational,  as  it  is  experimentally  the  successful 
method  of  procedure,  is  first  to  study  the  standard  of  correct 
articulation  (not  the  varieties  of  imperfect  utterance)  and 
then  not  to  go  from  one  extreme  to  another,  but  at  every 
step  to  compare  the  defective  with  the  perfect  mode  of 
speech  and  so  infallibly  to  ascertain  the  amount,  the  kind 
and  the  source  of  the  error." 

We  have  already  done  that:  We  have  located  the 
cause  of  the  trouble.     We  not  only  know  that 


ITS   CAUSE   AND    CURE  187 

stammering  is  caused  by  a  lack  of  co-ordination 
between  the  brain  and  the  muscles  of  speech,  but 
we  know  the  things  which  may  bring  about  the 
lack  of  co-ordination.  Now,  how  to  cure?  Sim- 
ply remove  the  cause.  Re-establish  normal  co- 
ordination between  the  brain  and  the  muscles  of 
speech.  Restore  normal  brain  control  over  the 
speech  organs.  Make  these  organs  respond 
freely,  naturally  and  promptly  to  the  brain 
messages. 

That  sounds  simple.  But  if  it  is  as  simple  as 
it  sounds,  why  is  it  that  so  many  in  the  past  have 
failed  to  cure  stammering  and  stuttering?  Why 
have  so  many  so-called  methods  of  cure  passed 
into  the  discard?  The  answer  is,  they  were  based 
on  the  wrong  foundation.  They  struck  at  the 
effects  and  not  at  the  cause  of  the  trouble.  And 
as  a  result,  the  methods  failed. 

These  so-called  methods  have  aimed  at  many 
different  effects.  One  method,  for  instance,  had 
as  its  theory  that  if  you  could  cure  the  nervous- 
ness, the  stammering  would  magically  disappear. 
The  unfortunate  sufferer  was  doped  with  vile- 
tasting  bitters  and  nerve  medicines,  so-called,  in 
the  hope  that  his  nervous  system  would  respond 
to  treatment.  But  the  nerves  could  not  be  quieted 


188  STAMMERING 

and  the  nervous  system  built  up  until  the  cause  of 
the  nervousness — which  was  stammering — was 
removed. 

There  was  a  time,  too,  and  it  has  not  been  so 
long  ago,  when  the  craze  was  on  for  using  sur- 
gery as  a  cure-all  for  stammering.  Terrible 
butchery  was  performed  in  the  name  of  surgery 
— the  patient's  tongue  sometimes  being  slitted  or 
notched,  and  other  foolish  and  cruel  subterfuges 
improvised  in  an  effort  to  cure  the  stammering. 
Needless  to  say,  there  was  no  cure  found  in  such 
methods.  There  is  no  chance  of  curing  a  mental 
defect  by  slitting  the  tongue  and  the  absurdities 
of  that  "butchering  period"  which  have  now 
passed  away,  are  numbered  among  the  mistakes 
of  those  who  committed  them. 

A  lack  of  thoroughness  marked  the  later 
attempts  to  cure  stammering.  One  method  was 
based,  for  instance,  solely  upon  correct  breath- 
ing. There  is  no  doubt  that  correct  breathing  is 
very  vital  both  to  the  stammerer  and  the  non- 
stammerer,  if  they  are  to  speak  fluently  and  well. 
But  breath-control  does  not  even  begin  to  solve 
the  problem  of  curing  stammering.  It  is  but  an 
element,  and  a  small  element,  in  the  proper  artic- 
ulation of  words.  And  however  well  this  plan  of 


ITS   CAUSE   AND    CURE  189 

breath-control  might  have  succeeded,  it  could 
never  have  succeeded  in  really  curing  stuttering 
and  stammering. 

Most  of  these  ill-advised  efforts  and  half-baked 
methods  sprang  up,  not  as  a  result  of  sound 
knowledge  but  rather  as  a  result  of  the  lack  of  it. 
In  fact,  looking  back  at  the  manner  in  which  the 
stammerer  was  treated  for  stammering  under 
these  methods,  we  can  see  now  that  nothing  but 
the  most  profound  ignorance  of  the  fundamental 
principles  underlying  the  art  of  speaking  could 
have  made  it  possible  for  these  misguided  in- 
structors to  pass  out  as  science  the  jargon  and 
hodge-podge  which  they  did  try  to  pass  off 
as  scientific  knowledge.  The  absurdities  pro- 
pounded in  the  name  of  stammering  cures  were 
too  numerous  even  to  enumerate  in  this  volume. 

Speech  Principles  Fundamental:  Back  of 
every  spoken  word,  whether  that  word  be  French, 
English,  Italian,  or  any  other  language,  are  the 
unchangeable  principles  of  speech.  These  prin- 
ciples of  speech  are  fundamental.  They  do  not 
change  basically  nor  do  they  vary  in  the  indi- 
vidual. When  you  speak  correctly,  you  do  so  as 
a  result  of  following  the  correct  principles  of 


190  STAMMEEINQ 

speech.  I  speak  correctly  by  the  same  method  as 
you.  And  when  you  speak  incorrectly,  or  when 
you  stutter  or  stammer,  you  do  so  because  you 
have  violated  one  or  more  of  these  fundamental 
principles.  Any  other  person  who  stammers  or 
stutters  as  you  do,  violates  the  same  principles 
and  requires  the  same  method  of  correction  as 
yourself.  The  severity  of  your  case  depends  upon 
how  many  of  the  principles  of  speech  you  violate. 
A  diagnosis  will  determine  this — and  therefore 
what  is  necessary  to  be  done  to  bring  about  per- 
fect speech.  The  number  of  speech  violations  to 
be  corrected  will  also  determine  to  a  certain 
extent  the  time  required  for  correction. 

Speech  Defined:  Speech,  in  all  the  diversities 
of  tongues  and  dialects,  consists  of  but  a  small 
number  of  articulated  elementary  sounds.  These 
are  produced  by  the  agency  of  the  lungs,  the 
larynx,  and  the  mouth.  The  lungs  supply  air  to 
the  larynx,  which  modifies  the  stream  into  whis- 
per or  voice ;  and  this  air  is  then  moulded  by  the 
plastic  oral  organs  into  syllables  which  singly  or 
in  accentual  combinations  constitute  words. 

As  explained  in  the  Chapter  on  Causes,  all  of 
the  physical  organs  which  have  to  do  with  the 


ITS   CAUSE   AND   CUEE  191 

production  of  speech  and  all  of  the  brain  centers 
whose  duty  it  is  to  control  the  actions  of  these 
various  organs,  must  operate  in  harmony,  or,  in 
other  words,  must  co-ordinate,  if  we  are  to  have 
perfect  speech.  Co-ordination  implies  perfect 
mental  control  of  physical  actions.  And  this  in 
turn  means  perfect  obedience  of  the  physical 
organs  of  speech  to  the  brain  messages  that  are 
received. 

The  cure  of  stammering  and  stuttering  re- 
quires a  great  deal  of  care  based,  of  course,  upon 
the  correct  scientific  knowledge  in  the  first  place. 

In  attempting  to  cure  stammering,  there  has 
been  too  much  teaching  by  rigid  rules  and  not 
enough  teaching  by  principles.  There  are  very 
few  hard-and-fast  rules  that  can  be  followed  with 
success  by  every  stutterer  or  stammerer.  No  set 
of  rules  can  be  laid  down  as  a  standard  for  every 
one  to  follow,  for  no  two  persons  stammer 
exactly  alike  any  more  than  two  persons  look 
exactly  alike. 

The  only  safe  rule  of  all  the  rules  is  that  which 
says,  "Cleave  closely  to  the  principles,  let  the 
rules  fall  where  they  may."  The  only  successful 
method  is  that  which,  being  first  based  upon  the 
right  principle,  is  followed  out  with  intelligence 


192  STAMMERING 

by  the  stammerer  and  administered  with  wisdom 
by  the  instructor  to  fit  the  needs  and  require- 
ments of  the  individual  case. 

Methods  Necessarily  Three-Fold:  The  cure  of 
stammering  and  stuttering  can  be  wrought  only 
by  a  method  that  is  three-fold — that  attacks  all  of 
the  un-normal  conditions  of  the  stammerer  simul- 
taneously and  eradicates  them  in  unison. 

It  would  be  of  little  avail,  for  instance,  to  build 
up  perfect  breath  control,  and  leave  the  stam- 
merer in  a  mental  state  where  he  was  continually 
harassed  by  a  fear  of  failure,  by  a  continual  self- 
consciousness  and  irritated  by  a  deep-seated 
nervousness. 

And  it  would  be  of  just  as  little  use  to  try  to 
remove  that  self -consciousness,  fear  of  failure 
and  nervousness  without  removing  the  cause  of 
the  stammering. 

In  other  words,  when  the  successful  method  of 
curing  stammering  is  spoken  of  as  being  three- 
fold in  purpose,  it  is  meant  that  this  method  must 
build  up  the  physical  being,  must  achieve  perfect 
mental  equilibrium  and  must  link  up  the  physical 
with  the  mental  in  perfect  harmony. 

A  permanent  cure  can  rest  on  no  other  f  ounda- 


ITS   CAUSE   AND    CURE  193 

tion  than  perfect  restoration  to  a  truly  normal 
mental  and  physical  condition.  When  this  has 
been  accomplished  and  when  the  synchronization 
of  brain  and  speech  organs  has  been  brought 
about,  the  muscles  of  speech  do  not  hesitate  in 
responding  to  a  brain  message  for  the  utterance 
of  a  word.  There  is  no  longer  any  sticking,  any 
loose  or  hurried  repetition.  In  other  words,  per- 
fect speech  now  comes  as  a  logical  consequence. 

Speech  Specialist  Should  Have  Stammered: 
It  is  very  important  that  the  speech  expert  who 
would  promulgate  a  method  for  the  eradication 
of  stammering  should  have,  at  one  time  or 
another,  stammered  himself. 

It  is  a  well-known  fact  that  the  imagination 
cannot  conjure  up  an  image  of  something  that 
has  never  been  experienced.  If  you  had  been 
born  blind,  you  would  have  no  mental  picture  of 
any  color,  no  matter  how  much  you  might  have 
heard  about  it.  Still  your  imagination  might  be 
a  most  prolific  one.  The  utmost  feat  of  the 
human  imagination  is  to  combine  mental  pictures 
to  form  still  other  images  which  are  impossible  or 
absurd  or  which  in  their  entirety  have  not  been 
experienced.  .  In  other  words,  new  combinations 


194  STAMMERING 

of  images  are  possible,  but  an  entirely  new  or 
basic  picture  is  beyond  the  power  of  the  imagina- 
tion to  create. 

So,  with  the  specialist  who  would  cure  stutter- 
ing and  stammering.  It  is  impossible  for  the 
man  who  has  never  stammered  or  stuttered  to 
know  the  fear  that  grips  the  sufferer  when  he 
thinks  of  speaking.  It  is  impossible  for  one  who 
has  never  stammered  to  imagine  what  this  fear  is 
like  or  to  know  the  feeling  that  accompanies  it. 

For  that  reason,  it  is  important  that  the  man 
who  attempts  to  eradicate  speech  defects  should 
have  been  afflicted  himself  in  order  that  his 
experience  may  have  been  acquired  first-hand — 
that  the  suffering  may  have  been  felt  and  all  of 
the  conditions  and  situations  of  the  stammerer 
may  be  as  familiar  to  him  as  to  his  student. 

Value  of  Moral  Influence  in  the  Cure  of  Stam- 
mering: In  speaking  of  the  necessity  for  good 
health,  both  physical  and  mental,  before  the  erad- 
ication of  stammering  can  take  place,  we  must 
not  overlook  a  few  words  about  one  particular 
type  of  derelict — the  will-less  or  sometimes  wilful 
individual  who  persists  in  indulging  in  dissipa- 
tion of  every  kind,  the  individual  who,  with  cock- 


ITS   CAUSE   AND   CUBE  195 

sure  attitude  and  haughty  sneer,  laughs  in  the 
face  of  experience  and  insists  that  "it  will  not 
bother  him."  To  such  as  these,  no  hope  can  be 
held  out.  Such  tactics  leave  both  body  and  mind 
in  a  condition  that  does  not  permit  of  up-build- 
ing. There  is  little  foundation  for  any  effort  and 
with  the  passing  of  each  day,  there  is  a  tearing- 
out  of  bodily  and  mental  vigor  that  makes  all 
effort  useless. 

But  in  the  average  individual,  physical  rebuild- 
ing is  a  process  of  but  a  few  weeks.  The  mental 
rehabilitation  can  usually  be  accomplished  in  an 
equally  short  period  of  time  and  when  these 
things  have  been  brought  about,  perfect  speech 
soon  follows  if  the  correct  methods  are  applied. 


13 


CHAPTER  VII 

THE  BOQUE  UNIT  METHOD  DESCRIBED 

AC1  the  time  a  stammerer  or  stutterer  first 
places  himself  under  my  care  and  before 
any  attempt  is  made  to  apply  the  treatment,  he 
is  given  a  very  thorough  and  searching  examina- 
tion for  the  purpose  of  learning  the  exact  nature 
of  his  difficulty.  It  must  be  remembered  that  no 
two  cases  of  stammering  or  stuttering  are  exactly 
alike  and  that  no  two  cases  require  exactly  the 
same  method  of  treatment,  although  the  same 
basic  principles  apply  to  all. 

Even  if  the  stammerer's  case  has  been  previ- 
ously diagnosed  by  me,  it  is  necessary  to  compare 
and  verify  the  symptoms  as  previously  exhibited 
with  those  existing  at  the  time  of  his  beginning 
treatment,  in  order  to  learn,  first  of  all,  whether 
his  malady  has  more  recently  progressed  into  a 
further  and  more  serious  stage. 

The  Bogue  Test:  If  the  usual  entrance  exam- 
ination does  not  bring  out  all  of  the  essential  facts 
regarding  the  case,  the  stammerer  is  then  put 


ITS    CAUSE   AND    CURE  197 

through  the  Bogue  Test — an  original  system  of 
diagnosis  which  I  perfected  some  years  ago — by 
means  of  which  the  peculiarities  of  the  trouble  are 
brought  out,  the  normal,  the  subnormal  and  the 
abnormal  condition  of  the  disorder  is  gauged  and 
the  most  minute  details  of  the  trouble  are  dis- 
closed. This  Bogue  Test  covers  the  case  from 
every  possible  angle.  It  lays  bare  the  exact  phys- 
ical, mental  and  nervous  condition  of  the  stam- 
merer or  stutterer,  enables  me  to  determine  the 
original  cause  of  the  trouble  and  to  follow 
its  progress  from  the  first  up  to  the  present  time, 
almost  as  easily  as  if  the  student  had  been  under 
my  observation  ever  since  he  first  noticed  his 
defect  of  speech. 

I  recall  the  case  of  a  boy  who  came  to  me  at 
one  time  for  a  personal  diagnosis  of  his  case.  I 
examined  him  carefully,  put  him  through  a  num- 
ber of  tests  and  diagnosed  his  case,  which  proved 
to  be  in  the  second  stage  and  of  no  more  than 
ordinary  severity.  He  was  unable  to  place  him- 
self under  my  care  at  that  time  but  returned  to 
me  about  eight  months  later,  apparently  in  no 
worse  condition  than  before.  Not  being  satisfied 
with  the  results  of  the  examination,  the  complete 
test  was  applied,  with  the  result  that  a  condition 


198  STAMMERING 

of  grave  seriousness  was  discovered,  marking  the 
most  pronounced  form  of  his  trouble — a  form  so 
far  advanced  as  to  make  the  case  almost  incur- 
able. The  situation  was  explained  to  the  young 
man  and  he  was  told  that  it  would  take  much 
longer  than  usual  to  bring  about  a  cure  in  his 
case,  although  such  a  cure  was  yet  possible.  He 
expressed  his  willingness  to  spend  as  much  time 
as  was  necessary  hi  the  cure  and  as  a  result,  he 
was  able  within  some  weeks'  time  to  talk  without 
stuttering  or  stammering.  The  mental  sluggish- 
ness which  marked  his  conversation  soon  disap- 
peared. He  became  alert  and  eager  and  when  he 
left  for  home,  he  was  a  much  different  boy  than 
when  he  came  for  treatment. 

This  is  but  one  of  hundreds  of  examples  show- 
ing the  need  for  expert  diagnosis  and  for  careful 
analysis  of  the  condition  of  the  stammerer  even 
if  a  previous  diagnosis  has  been  made  within  a 
few  months. 

In  practically  all  cases  of  stammering,  par- 
ticularly those  of  a  progressive  character,  the 
condition  is  naturally  changeable  and  common 
prudence  calls  for  caution  in  accepting  antedated 
facts  as  an  indication  of  the  present  condition. 

In  every  case,  the  examination  enables  me  to 


ITS   CAUSE   AND   CURE  199 

gauge  the  severity  of  the  case  so  accurately  that 
the  student's  course  can  be  outlined,  designating 
the  exact  Plan-of- Attack  to  be  used  in: 

1 — Tearing  out  the  improper  methods  of 
speech  production 

2 — Replacing  those  incorrect  methods  with 
the  correct  natural  methods 

3 — Re-establishing  normal  co-ordination  be- 
tween the  brain  and  the  muscles  of 
speech. 

The  Method  at  Work:  When  the  preliminary 
Examination  and  Tests  have  been  completed  and 
the  student's  course  outlined,  the  actual  working 
of  the  Bogue  Unit  Method  then  begins.  This 
does  not  involve  the  practice  of  any  "ism"  or 
"ology,"  nor  does  it  require  the  use  of  medicines, 
drugs,  surgery,  hypnotism  or  the  "laying-on-of- 
hands,"  but  by  scientific  and  natural  methods, 
begins  the  first  step  of  the  work,  viz. :  Tearing  out 
the  improper  methods  of  speech  production. 

At  every  step  in  the  application  of  the  method, 
the  principles  which  underlie  and  govern  perfect 
articulation,  serve  as  the  foundation  of  the  in- 
struction. As  has  been  so  often  stated  in  this 


200  STAMMERING 

book,  these  principles  of  speech  never  change. 
They  apply  to  all  persons  alike,  and  all  who  talk 
normally  apply  these  principles  in  the  same  man- 
ner. Those  who  stammer  violate  them,  so  that  in 
correcting  defective  speech  it  is  only  logical  that 
we  should  first  remove  the  defective  procedure 
and  then  institute  the  correct  procedure  in  its 
place. 

The  Bogue  Unit  Method  is  three-fold  in  ac- 
tion. From  this  it  takes  the  name  "Unit  Meth- 
od." The  first  Unit  of  Treatment  has  for  its 
purpose  the  huilding  up  of  physical  efficiency. 
"The  first  requisite  is  to  be  a  good  animal,"  says 
Herbert  Spencer.  This  is  certainly  true  of  the 
stammerer,  for  in  his  case,  normal  health  is  a  val- 
uable aid  during  the  time  of  treatment.  Conse- 
quently, the  first  step  is  to  build  up  the  physical 
organs  and  be  sure  that  these  are  functioning 
properly. 

The  second  Unit  of  Treatment  restores  the 
mental  equilibrium,  stabilizes  the  mental  activi- 
ties and  places  them  under  perfect  control.  The 
inability  of  the  mind  to  control  the  organs  of 
speech  has  led  to  a  condition  which  might  be 
described  as  a  "flabbiness  of  the  mental  muscles" 
which  necessitates  that  the  mental  condition  be 


ITS   CAUSE   AND   CURE  201 

altered  and  improved  so  that  the  mind  can  once 
more  possess  the  capacity  for  properly  control- 
ling the  organs  of  speech. 

The  third  Unit  of  Treatment  synchronizes 
and  harmonizes  mental  and  physical  actions  and 
re-establishes  normal  co-ordination  between  the 
brain  and  the  muscles  of  speech,  which  completes 
the  work  necessary  to  bring  about  a  cure.  After 
both  physical  and  mental  conditions  have  been 
made  normal,  it  merely  remains  to  link  up  these 
two  properly-working  forces,  co-ordinate  their 
activities  and  firmly  inhabitate  the  correct  prin- 
ciples of  control,  after  which  it  can  be  said  that 
a  complete  cure  is  permanently  effected. 

Daily  Record  of  Progress:  Beginning  with 
the  first  day,  a  complete  report  in  writing  is  made 
of  the  progress.  Each  point  on  which  the  student 
makes  progress  is  noted.  If  proper  advancement 
is  not  made  on  any  particular  point,  special  effort 
is  put  forth  to  bring  that  point  up  to  the  standard 
which  has  been  set.  This  makes  it  possible  for 
the  instructor  to  give  individual  attention  to  each 
student,  something  which  is  absolutely  essential 
in  many  cases.  In  other  words,  it  will  not  do  to 
start  the  student  off  and  let  him  work  out  his  own 


202  STAMMERING 

salvation.  The  instructor  must  be  constantly  at 
hand,  giving  advice,  correcting  faulty  articula- 
tion and  constantly  aiding  the  stammerer  in  a 
hundred  ways  to  route  the  malady. 

After  having  been  under  treatment  for  seven 
days,  the  student  is  subjected  to  his  first  treat- 
ment test.  After  passing  this  examination  satis- 
factorily, the  student  is  assigned  additional  work 
from  another  angle.  Some  students  require  as 
much  as  ten  days  to  complete  the  work  necessary 
to  pass  this  first  test — in  fact,  it  might  also  be 
said  that  this  test  will  determine  the  speed  with 
which  the  student  is  to  progress.  From  this  time 
until  the  completion  of  the  course,  additional  tests 
are  given  at  various  intervals,  according  to  the 
needs  of  the  case,  until  the  Final  Cure  Test 
proves  that  the  malady  has  been  eradicated. 

Conscious  of  the  Improvement:  The  stam- 
merer is  profoundly  conscious  of  a  distinct 
change  for  the  better  by  the  end  of  the  very  first 
day  under  treatment.  In  other  words,  there  is  an 
immediate  and  noticeable  improvement,  not  only 
in  his  nervous  condition,  but  also  in  his  physical 
and  mental  state  as  well. 

Before  the  studentpasses  from  under  the  treat- 


ITS   CAUSE  AND   CURE  203 

ment,  he  is  thoroughly  aware  of  the  benefits  which 
the  work  has  brought  about.  For,  after  he  has 
met  every  progress  test  and  has  been  examined  on 
every  phase  and  every  principle  of  speech,  he 
passes  to  a  rigid  Final  Test.  In  this  test,  more 
than  ever  before,  he  finds  the  results  of  his  efforts. 
He  discovers  that  he  can  use  his  speech  in  any 
way  that  he  desires — in  any  way  that  it  will  be 
necessary  for  him  to  use  it  in  his  future  life.  He 
finds  himself  able  to  produce  any  sound — labial, 
dental,  lingual,  nasal  or  palatal  or  any  combina- 
tion of  these  sounds  in  any  language.  He  finds 
every  word  now  is  an  easy  word,  articulation  is 
under  perfect  control  and  the  formation  of  voice 
a  process  involving  no  apparent  mental  effort  or 
physical  contortions. 

A  young  woman  of  20  years  was  placed  under 
my  care  by  her  mother.  She  stammered  very 
badly  and  at  the  time  when  her  condition  was  at 
its  worst,  found  it  almost  impossible  to  make  her- 
self understood  by  any  means.  After  five  weeks 
of  careful  instruction,  this  young  woman  had  no 
difficulty  whatever  in  speaking,  there  was  no 
"piling  up  of  thoughts,"  as  she  expressed  her 
former  condition,  and  her  articulation  was  excel- 
lent. A  few  days  after  she  returned  home,  she 


204  STAMMERING 

wrote  as  follows :  "I  have  been  talking  ever  since 
I  came  home  and  have  had  no  trouble  whatever. 
I  just  love  to  talk  and  I  believe  I  have  said  more 
in  the  last  five  days  than  in  the  whole  last  five 
years." 

Additional  Results:  The  Bogue  Unit  Method 
of  Cure  when  earnestly  followed  out  by  the  stu- 
dent, does  much  more  than  eradicate  the  impedi- 
ment of  speech.  It  increases  the  weight  of  the 
below-the-average  student,  stops  all  spasmodic  or 
convulsive  efforts  of  face,  arms  and  limbs  and 
increases  by  several  inches  what  was  formerly  a 
flat  and  poorly  developed  chest. 

A  very  bad  case  who  came  to  me  for  treatment 
several  years  ago  was  a  young  man  of  26.  He  not 
only  stuttered  but  stammered  very  badly.  He 
placed  himself  under  my  guidance  for  a  period  of 
a  little  more  than  six  weeks.  At  the  end  of  that 
time  he  found  no  difficulty  in  talking  nor  were 
there  any  spasmodic  movements  of  the  facial 
muscles,  as  before.  In  reporting  some  time  later, 
he  said: 

"When  I  left  I  tipped  the  scales  at  20  pounds  heavier 
than  when  I  went  to  you.  My  folks  are  certainly  pleased 
to  hear  me  talk  without  the  straining  and  strangling  exer- 
tion I  had  before  in  trying  to  force  my  words  out.  Now 
they  flow  out  nice  and  easy." 


ITS   CAUSE   AND   CURE  205 

Many  children,  both  boys  and  girls,  are  under 
developed.  This  may  have  resulted  from  several 
causes,  but  it  is  frequently  traceable  to  the  stam- 
mering or  stuttering  as  an  indirect  cause.  The 
Bogue  Unit  Method  takes  these  children  in  a 
poor  physical  condition  and  while  eradicating  the 
defect  of  speech,  brings  about  a  healthy  physical 
development.  An  Ohio  woman  reported  excel- 
lent results  in  a  letter  which  said: 

"I  am  glad  to  inform  you  that  my  son  Allan  since  taking 
the  treatment  in  June  last,  has  not  to  my  knowledge,  stam- 
mered once,  for  which  we  are  all  very  grateful  to  the  Boguo 
Method.  I  also  wish  to  say  that  his  physical  condition  is 
much  improved  and  he  has  increased  in  weight  about  ten 
pounds." 

Regardless  of  the  age  of  the  student,  there  is 
an  increased  vitality  flowing  through  the  entire 
body,  the  powers  of  endurance  are  greatly  in- 
creased and  the  health  built  up  from  every  stand- 
point. One  man  sent  in  an  enthusiastic  report  in 
these  words : 

"I  am  fine  and  healthy;  the  people  down  here  say  I  don't 
look  like  the  same  person.  I  gained  17  pounds  while  I  was 
out  there.  I  am  talking  fine.  My  mother  says  I  talk  them 
nearly  to  death.  I  talk  them  all  to  bed  at  night,  so  they  put 
out  the  light  on  me  so  I  will  go  to  bed  and  hush.  I  went 
down  town  Saturday  night  and  the  boys  were  sure  glad  to 
hear  me  talk  without  stammering." 

Even  this  physical  improvement  is  not  unusual. 


206  STAMMERING 

Another  man  reports  the  change  brought  about 
in  his  condition  as  follows : 

Just  about  two  years  ago  I  was  one  of  the  worst  stam- 
merers I  know  that  ever  was;  it  was  simply  awful.  I  could 
not  speak  a  word  without  the  most  terrible  stammering  you 
ever  heard.  My  parents  were  heartbroken  over  my  condition, 
which  grew  worse  all  the  time.  I  did  not  grow  and  develop 
like  my  brothers.  My  shoulders  were  stooped,  my  chest 
sunken — in  fact,  I  was  in  a  terrible  condition.  After  staying 
with  you  for  six  weeks  I  came  home  and  every  one  who  knew 
me  when  I  left  was  simply  astonished  at  the  improvement, 
not  in  my  speech  alone,  but  in  my,  physical  condition  also. 
Am  stronger  and  well  now  and  I  say  it  is  a  comfort  to  be 
able  to  talk  like  other  boys." 

This  case  is  not  an  unusual  one,  however,  for 
it  is  frequently  found  that  the  stammering  child 
grows  into  a  physically  deficient  man  as  a  result 
of  his  speech  impediment. 

Concomitant  with  these  physical  betterments 
comes  a  changed  mental  attitude,  whereby  the 
former  pessimistic  outlook  has  been  changed  to 
an  optimistic  view  of  life.  The  former  abnormal 
timidity  of  the  student  has  been  replaced  by  a 
perfect  confidence ;  the  old  unreasoning  f ear-of- 
failure  is  transformed  into  a  feeling  of  supreme 
self-reliance;  and  the  depressed,  care-worn  ex- 
pression which  may  once  have  marked  the  stam- 


ITS   CAUSE   AND   CURE  207 

merer's  countenance  has  given  place  to  that  of 
cheerfulness. 

The  weak  and  vacillating  will  now  manifests 
itself  as  a  dominant,  masterful  power-of-will  and 
the  stagnant  mentality  of  the  stammerer  has  now 
given  place  to  a  vigorous,  forceful,  creative  men- 
tal power.  The  mind- wandering  or  lack  of  ability 
to  concentrate  is  gone  and  in  its  place  is  an  in- 
tense and  well  controlled  power-of -concentration. 
In  addition  to  this,  the  nervousness  which  marked 
the  every  movement  of  the  stammerer  has  dis- 
appeared and  the  self -consciousness  which  made 
life  a  misery  is  replaced  by  a  calm  self-control, 
resulting  in  an  entire  self-forgetfulness,  perfect 
poise  and  a  feeling  of  self-possession. 

These  benefits  accrue  gradually  as  the  course 
progresses,  but  when,  upon  the  completion  of  the 
course,  perfect  speech  is  finally  restored,  the  re- 
sults are  fully  evident  and  entirely  permanent. 
Their  permanency  is  the  crowning  result  of  the 
proper  methods — methods  which  eradicate  the 
trouble  at  its  source — treat  and  remove  the  cause 
instead  of  treating  the  effect. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

SOME  CASES  I  HAVE  MET 

DURING  the  last  twenty-eight  years,  I  have 
personally  met  more  than  22,000  stam- 
merers, diagnosed  97,000  cases  by  mail  and 
corresponded  with  more  than  210,000  people  who 
stammer  or  stutter.  In  this  time,  it  is  only  nat- 
ural that  I  should  have  come  in  contact  with  al- 
most every  conceivable  type  of  stammering  in 
practically  every  form. 

I  am  going  to  describe  a  few  of  these  cases  in 
this  chapter,  give  their  history  and  description 
very  briefly,  follow  out  the  course  of  the  trouble 
when  unchecked  and  indicate  the  circumstances 
of  cure  when  the  stammerer  has  placed  himself 
for  treatment. 

I  shall  make  no  attempt  to  discuss  all  types  of 
speech  disorders  nor  even  all  of  the  forms  of  any 
one  type,  but  rather  to  take  up  those  cases  which 
can  be  regarded  as  most  common  and  which  are 
typical  of  the  disorders  of  the  largest  number  of 
stammerers  and  stutterers.  Since  a  whole  volume 


ITS   CAUSE   AND   CURE  209 

could  easily  be  filled  with  descriptions  of  cases,  it 
is  evident  that  those  discussed  here  must  be  but 
briefly  described. 

(The  case  numbers  in  the  following  pages  refer  to  specific 
cases,  but  not  to  the  order  of  their  treatment,  since  the 
classification  is  a  decimal  system  used  to  indicate  type,  dura- 
tion, stage,  etc.) 

Case  No.  65.435 — This  was  a  boy  of  8,  brought 
to  me  by  his  mother  after  he  load  experienced  un- 
told trouble  in  school.  The  boy  complained  of  a 
pain  in  his  head  when  making  an  effort  to  talk  or 
after  having  spoken  under  the  strain  for  some 
minutes.  I  found  the  spasmodic  contractions 
accompanying  his  trouble  to  be  very  pronounced 
for  a  boy  so  young  in  years  and  upon  making  the 
examination,  was  not  surprised  to  find  his  to  be 
a  case  of  Combined  Stammering  and  Stuttering. 
There  was  no  indication  of  Thought-Lapse,  but 
there  was  a  condition  that  could  easily  have  been 
mistaken  for  it — viz. :  a  woeful  lack  of  confidence 
in  his  own  ability  to  speak,  which  in  this  boy's 
case  was  due  to  the  fact  that  he  had  stuttered 
almost  since  his  first  word  and  had  rarely  spoken 
words  correctly.  As  has  been  previously  ex- 
plained, every  child  learns  to  speak  by  imitation 
and  his  confidence  in  his  speaking-ability  must  be 
gained  by  constant  reassurance  from  some  source 


210  STAMMEEING 

that  he  is  speaking  correctly.  Early  in  life  this 
boy  had  found  that  he  was  not  speaking  correctly 
and  at  that  moment  began  to  feel  the  lack  of  con- 
fidence which  had  been  growing  upon  him  daily. 
Although  in  the  midst  of  his  school  work,  ar- 
rangements were  easily  made  to  remove  him  from 
class  and  place  him  for  treatment.  Notwithstand- 
ing the  fact  that  his  trouble  was  unusually  severe 
for  a  boy  of  that  age,  seven  weeks  at  the  Institute 
saw  him  made  into  a  new  boy,  his  confidence 
regained,  his  speech  under  perfect  control  and 
his  physical  condition  greatly  improved.  He 
returned  to  school,  where  his  unusual  proficiency 
enlisted  the  aid  and  co-operation  of  his  teachers 
to  such  an  extent  that  he  was  able  to  finish  the 
semester  with  his  class. 

Case  No.  7.232 — This  was  another  boy  of  early 
school  age,  whose  case  is  described  here  because 
of  the  contrast  of  the  one  just  mentioned.  The 
present  case  was  that  of  a  boy  soon  to  be  10  years 
old.  He  had  stammered,  not  since  his  first  word, 
but  only  since  he  had  been  allowed  to  play  with 
two  children,  twins,  who  lived  in  the  neighbor- 
hood, and  both  of  whom  had  stuttered  since  their 
first  attempts  to  speak.  While  I  never  examined 


ITS   CAUSE   AND   CURE  211 

the  twins,  it  seems  from  what  I  learned  of  them, 
that  the  predisposition  to  stammer  was  an  inher- 
ited one,  both  the  father  and  grandfather  having 
been  inveterate  stammerers.  Be  that  as  it  may, 
their  defective  enunciation,  practiced  in  the  pres- 
ence of  the  boy  whose  case  I  am  describing, 
caused  the  boy  himself  to  acquire  a  habit  of  im- 
perfect enunciation  which  took  the  form  of  simple 
stuttering  and  which  all  the  home  efforts  of  his 
mother  and  father  had  failed  to  eradicate.  At 
the  time  he  was  brought  to  me,  I  gave  him  the 
usual  examination,  traced  his  trouble  back  to  its 
original  cause — Unconscious  Imitation  diag- 
nosed his  case  as  one  of  Simple  Stuttering  and 
recommended  the  procedure  to  be  followed.  This 
boy  left  my  care  after  three  weeks  and  experi- 
enced no  further  difficulty  to  this  day,  although 
he  is  now  24  years  old  and  engaged  in  work  that 
necessitates  his  making  impromptu  speeches 
almost  every  day.  Here  was  a  case  of  Simple 
Stuttering,  taken  at  the  right  time,  which  yielded 
almost  magically  to  the  treatment,  but  had  it  been 
allowed  to  run  on,  would  have  progressed  into  the 
Advanced  Stage  of  Stuttering  and  later,  in  all 
probability,  into  an  extremely  severe  case  of 
Combined  Stammering  and  Stuttering. 

14 


212  STAMMERING 

Case  No.  986.528 — This  was  the  case  of  a 
Polish  boy  who  found  it  almost  impossible  to 
begin  a  word  or  a  sentence.  In  describing  his 
case  to  me,  he  finally  managed  to  say,  "Before  I 
utter  a  word  it  takes  me  a  long  time  and  after  I 
utter  the  word,  I  become  red  in  the  face  and  so 
excited  that  I  don't  know  where  I  am,  or  what 
I  am  doing  1"  I  found  this  boy  to  be  extremely 
high-strung  and  of  a  nervous  temperament,  easily 
excited.  He  was  of  an  emotional  type,  was  more- 
than-ordinarily  sensitive  about  his  trouble  and 
brooded  over  it  constantly,  having  long  fits  of 
deep  melancholia  that  were  a  constant  source  of 
worry  to  his  parents.  He  was  furthermore  at  a 
critical  age,  from  the  standpoint  of  his  speech 
development,  just  approaching  16.  Although 
naturally  of  an  agreeable  disposition,  his  trouble 
had  made  him  irritable  and  often  sullen.  He 
wore  an  air  of  dejection  almost  constantly.  It 
was  evident  to  me  immediately  upon  examination 
that  his  trouble  had  had  a  grave  effect  upon  his 
mind  and  that  it  would  in  time  (and  not  so  long 
a  time,  either)  have  a  deep  and  permanent  effect 
that  no  amount  of  effort  could  eradicate. 

It  would  be  naturally  expected  that  his  symp- 
toms would  indicate  Thought- Stammering,  but 


ITS   CAUSE   AND   CUKE  218 

this  is  not  true.  Instead  I  found  his  to  be  a  bad 
case  of  Spasmodic  Stammering,  in  which  the  con- 
vulsive action  took  place  immediately  upon  an 
effort  to  speak  and  which  resulted,  therefore,  in 
the  inability  to  express  a  sound — the  "sticking'* 
tendency  so  common  to  stammering  and  particu- 
larly to  this  type. 

While  the  worry  over  his  stammering  had  left 
him  in  a  mental  state  that  made  him  impotent  so 
far  as  normal  mental  accomplishments  were  con- 
cerned, still  the  removal  of  his  stammering  by  the 
eradication  of  the  cause  would,  I  felt,  entirely 
relieve  the  condition  of  mental  flurry  and  stop  the 
nervousness. 

The  case  was  so  urgent  that  the  boy's  parents 
decided  to  place  him  for  treatment  immediately. 
The  results  were  so  gratifying  as  to  be  almost 
unbelievable.  By  the  end  of  the  first  day's  work, 
the  boy's  whole  mental  attitude  was  changed. 
His  outlook  on  life  was  different.  He  felt  the 
thrill  of  conquering  his  difficulty  and  before 
many  days,  he  was  working  like  a  Trojan  to 
make  his  cure  complete  and  permanent.  At  my 
suggestion,  he  remained  with  me  for  seven  weeks, 
at  the  end  of  which  time  he  went  back  East, 
entirely  changed  in  every  particular.  He  was 


214  STAMMEBING 

smiling  now,  where  before  he  seemed  to  have  for- 
gotten how  to  smile.  He  was  full  of  life,  enthu- 
siasm and  ambition — no  one  who  had  seen  him  the 
day  he  first  came  here,  could  realize  that  this  was 
the  same  boy  that  entered  a  few  weeks  before 
with  the  desire-to-live  almost  extinct.  There  are 
hundreds  of  cases  not  far  different  from  this — I 
have  cited  the  case  of  this  Polish  boy  to  show 
what  a  complete  transformation  is  made  in  the 
mental  state  by  a  few  weeks'  work  along  the  right 
lines. 

Case  No.  87.522 — Here  was  a  case  of  a  type 
that  is  very,  very  common.  It  was  that  of  a 
girl,  17  years  of  age,  from  a  good  family,  well- 
educated  and  having  all  the  marks  of  careful 
training  in  a  home  of  refinement.  The  most 
marked  characteristic  of  her  case  was  the  tend- 
ency to  recur.  In  other  words,  she  was  an  Inter- 
mittent Stammerer,  who  had  believed  (as  had  her 
parents)  that  the  tendency  to  get  better  was  an 
indication  that  she  would  soon  outgrow  the 
trouble.  "If  Marie  still  stammers  by  the  time 
she  is  18 — "  this  had  come  to  be  almost  a  house- 
hold word,  for  if  she  stammered  at  that  time,  it 
was  the  intention  of  her  parents  (so  they  said) 


ITS    CAUSE   AND    CURE  215 

to  have  the  girl  placed  under  treatment.  As  was 
to  be  expected,  she  continued  to  stammer  and 
continued  to  get  steadily  worse,  although  the 
tendency  to  be  better  and  worse  by  turns  was 
maintained  throughout  the  years.  The  periods 
of  improvement  were  eagerly  seized  by  her 
parents,  year  after  year,  as  indications  of  out- 
growing, while  the  periods  of  relapse  were  seldom 
spoken  of  and  usually  ignored.  It  was  another 
case  of  the  old  saying  that:  "We  like  to  think 
that  the  thing  will  happen  which  we  want  to 
happen,"  and  since  they  wanted  the  daughter  to 
outgrow  her  trouble,  they  insisted  in  believing, 
despite  their  own  unexpressed  fears,  that  the 
daughter  would  "eventually  get  over  it  1" 

She  did  not  get  over  it,  however,  and  the  criti- 
cal age  of  16  brought  on  a  condition  so  severe  that 
her  parents  became  alarmed  about  her  and  sought 
advice  as  to  what  should  be  done. 

An  examination  of  her  case  brought  out  the 
fact  that  she  had  probably  inherited  a  predispo- 
sition to  stammer,  but  that  the  immediate  cause 
of  the  trouble  had  been  fright,  caused  by  a  nurse 
who  had  tried  to  discipline  the  girl  when  small, 
by  telling  her  that  the  "bogey-man"  would  get 
her  if  she  didn't  do  certain  things  as  told.  This 


216  STAMMERING 

disciplining  by  means  of  fear  is  never  a  safe  pro- 
cedure and  in  this  case  had  been  carried  to  ex- 
tremes on  many  occasions,  finally  resulting  in  the 
child  becoming  a  stammerer. 

She  had  a  case  of  Genuine  Stammering  in  its 
second  stage  and,  according  to  her  own  state- 
ment at  the  time  the  examination  was  made,  had 
become  much  worse  in  the  last  two  years.  At  age 
15  it  seems  that  everyone  felt  secure  in  the  belief 
that  her  trouble  would  pass  away,  but  at  age  17, 
the  condition  became  critical,  the  disorder  having 
previously  passed  into  the  second  stage. 

Two  and  a  half  weeks  worked  a  wonderful  im- 
provement in  the  girl's  condition,  at  the  end  of 
which  time  she  was  compelled  to  return  to  her 
home  on  account  of  a  death  in  the  family.  She 
remained  at  home  for  almost  a  month,  after  which 
she  returned  to  me  to  complete  the  cure.  Even 
under  such  an  unusual  and  unfavorable  circum- 
stance as  this,  she  remained  with  me  the  last 
time  only  four  weeks,  and  has,  according  to  her 
report,  never  stammered  since,  nor  has  she  been 
oppressed  by  the  overpowering  sense  of  fear  that 
formerly  seized  her  when  she  thought  of  trying  to 
talk. 


ITS   CAUSE   AND   CURE  217 

Case  No.  84-563 — This  case  first  came  to  my 
attention  over  ten  years  ago,  when  I  was  called 
upon  to  make  a  diagnosis.  This  showed  the 
trouble  to  be  a  case  of  Combined  Stammering  and 
Stuttering,  originally  caused,  it  seemed,  from 
having  associated  with  an  old  man  who  was 
janitor  in  a  wood- working  plant  belonging  to  the 
father  of  the  boy  whose  case  I  am  describing. 
The  janitor  had  stammered  ever  since  anyone 
about  the  place  had  known  him  and  probably  all 
of  his  life.  In  his  early  days,  with  his  youth  to 
carry  him  on,  he  had  tried  to  hold  down  several 
jobs  of  consequence,  but  with  varying  success, 
dropping  down  the  ladder  rung  by  rung  until 
he  reached  the  place  of  janitor.  The  boy  in 
question,  having  associated  with  the  old  man, 
early  acquired  the  habit  of  mocking  his  defective 
speech,  with  the  result  that  he  himself  soon  began 
to  stutter,  which  later  turned  into  a  combined 
form  of  disorder  known  as  Combined  Stammer- 
ing and  Stuttering. 

He  came  to  me  at  the  time  he  was  28,  having 
found  it  necessary  to  go  to  work  on  his  own 
account,  upon  the  failure  of  his  father's  business. 
I  explained  to  him  that  his  was  a  case  of  Com- 
bined Stammering  and  Stuttering,  outlined  to 


218  STAMMERING 

him  the  probable  course  of  his  trouble  and  what 
he  might  reasonably  expect  if  he  allowed  it  to 
continue.  Having  been  married  only  a  short 
time  and  being  rather  reluctant  to  leave  home 
for  the  length  of  time  necessary  to  take  the 
course,  he  decided  to  postpone  treatment  until 
some  later  date.  I  heard  nothing  more  from  him 
for  almost  three  years,  when  he  walked  in  one 
day,  looking  like  a  shadow  of  his  former  self. 
There  were  dark  rings  around  his  eyes,  his  gaze 
was  shifty  and  I  could  hardly  believe  that  this  was 
the  young  fellow  who  had  seen  me  three  years 
ago.  Nevertheless  it  was  the  same  man,  with  a 
story  that  pointed  out  the  danger  of  postpone- 
ment. His  trouble  had  become  steadily  worse,  he 
said,  until  it  had  ruined  his  control  over  himself. 
He  had  become  nervous,  irritable  and  cross,  with- 
out meaning  to  be  so,  had  lost  one  good  position 
after  another  and  finally,  as  a  climax  to  a  long 
string  of  misfortunes,  his  wife  had  left  him. 
declaring  that  she  would  not  put  up  with  him  in 
such  a  condition. 

A  second  examination  revealed  the  fact  that 
his  stammering  had  progressed  so  rapidly  since 
he  had  last  talked  with  me,  that  it  was  now  peril- 
ously near  the  stage  known  as  Thought  Lapse. 


ITS   CAUSE  AND   CURE  219 

His  control  was  not  entirely  shattered,  however, 
and  he  was  accepted  for  treatment.  It  was  some- 
thing over  two  months  before  he  was  back  in 
shape  again,  but  those  two  months  did  a  wonder- 
ful thing  for  him,  for  it  put  him  in  first-class 
physical  condition,  removed  all  traces  of  his 
impediment  and  restored  the  mental  equilibrium 
which  had  been  so  long  endangered.  Later,  as  a 
result  of  his  restoration  to  perfect  speech,  his 
family  differences  were  adjusted,  and  at  the  last 
reports,  he  was  making  splendid  headway  in  a 
business  of  his  own.  Such  is  the  power  of  stam- 
mering to  destroy — even  home  and  happiness 
itself — and  such  the  power  of  perfect  speech  to 
build  up  again. 

Case  No.  465.722 — This  was  the  case  of  a  man 
born  in  Ireland,  who  came  to  this  country  as  a 
boy,  and  the  original  cause  of  whose  trouble  was 
a  blow  over  the  head  in  a  street  fight  soon  after 
landing  in  America. 

When  he  came  to  me,  he  was  52  years  of  age 
and  not  only  had  one  of  the  most  severe  cases  of 
Spasmodic  Stammering  I  have  ever  seen,  but 
was  in  the  first  stages  of  Thought  Lapse.  He 
was  practically  speechless  all  of  the  time  and  his 


220  STAMMERING 

trouble  instead  of  manifesting  an  Intermittent 
Tendency  as  it  had  formerly  done,  was  now  con- 
stant, indicating  that  he  was  in  the  chronic  stage 
of  his  difficulty.  Aside  from  his  Spasmodic 
Stammering,  he  seemed  unable  to  think  of  the 
things  which  he  wished  to  say.  In  other  words, 
his  trouble  had  been  affecting  him  so  long  that  he 
had  lost  the  power  to  recall  and  control  the  men- 
tal images  necessary  to  the  formation  of  words. 
I  not  only  gave  him  the  usual  examination  but 
applied  the  special  Bogue  test,  both  of  which  con- 
vinced me  that  his  case  was  far  into  the  incurable 
stage.  There  was  little  or  nothing  I  could  do  for 
him  at  that  late  date  and  so  I  told  him.  He  acted 
as  if  dazed  for  a  few  moments,  and  when  the  full 
force  of  the  truth  dawned  upon  him,  it  was  as  if 
a  cord  had  snapped  and  broken.  Hope  was  gone. 
He  was  an  incurable — and  knew  it  now,  only  too 
well.  And  as  he  turned  and  left  me,  I  knew  from 
the  droop  of  the  shoulders  and  the  hang  of  the 
head,  that  life  meant  but  little  to  him  now.  He 
was  merely  waiting — waiting  for  the  last  page 
to  be  written  and  his  book  of  despair  to  be  closed. 

Case  No.  84.444 — This  young  woman  was 
very  talented,  had  a  beautiful  singing  voice  and 


ITS   CAUSE   AND   CURE  221 

could  not  understand  why  she  was  unable  to 
speak  fluently  when  she  could  sing  so  well.  The 
cause  of  her  trouble  was  distinctly  mental  and 
did  not  lie  in  any  defective  formation  of  the  vocal 
organs  but  rather  in  a  lack  of  co-ordination 
between  the  brain  and  the  muscles  of  speech.  In 
her  case,  the  speech  disorder  had  not  materially 
affected  her  health,  although  she  admitted  it  had 
impaired  her  power  of  will  and  her  ability  to  con- 
centrate. Six  weeks  put  her  in  good  condition 
and  gave  her  the  opportunity  to  use  her  beautiful 
voice  to  excellent  advantage  in  speaking  as  well 
as  in  singing — much  to  her  satisfaction. 

Case  No.  667.788 — This  man  came  to  me  for 
assistance  and  relief  from  a  severe  case  of  Com- 
bined Stammering  and  Stuttering.  He  shook 
like  a  leaf  when  he  talked,  was  very  nervous,  and 
could  hardly  sit  still.  His  speech  was  marked  by 
loose  and  hurried  repetitions  of  syllables  and 
words,  alternating  with  a  slow  and  seemingly 
dazed  repetition  of  words,  as  though  he  did  not 
know  what  he  was  saying. 

In  a  few  moments,  I  learned  that  he  was  a 
habitual  alcoholic,  that  he  was  acquainted  with 
the  Delirium  Tremens  and  that  he  frequently 


222  STAMMEKING 

went  upon  sprees  lasting  a  week,  which  left  him 
a  physical  wreck.  He  had  no  backbone,  there 
was  no  foundation  to  build  on  and  his  case  was 
declined  as  incurable,  not  altogether  from  the 
condition  of  his  speech,  but  because  it  is  useless 
and  hopeless  to  attempt  treatment  of  the  stam- 
merer who  is  also  a  chronic  dissipator. 

Case  No.  34.343 — This  was  the  case  of  a  young 
man  who  came  to  me  at  the  age  of  17.  He  was 
one  of  the  type  that  "seldom  stammer."  He 
explained  this  to  me  and  told  me  that  many  of  his 
friends  were  not  aware  of  the  fact  that  he  stam- 
mered. 

I  gave  him  an  examination  and  found  his 
trouble  to  be  a  case  of  Combined  Stammering  and 
Stuttering  in  the  second  stage.  He  was  of  the 
Intermittent  Type  and  at  intervals  his  trouble 
became  very  bad,  at  which  times  he  made  it  a 
point  not  to  go  out  among  his  friends — one  of 
the  reasons  which  made  it  possible  for  him 
to  say  that  his  friends  did  not  know  of  his  speech 
trouble. 

This  young  man  came  to  me  hoping  that  I 
would  tell  him  that  his  trouble  was  not  severe  and 
that  he  would  outgrow  it  in  a  few  years.  I  was 


ITS   CAUSE  AND   CUBE  223 

able  to  tell  him  that  at  the  time  his  case  was  not 
an  extremely  bad  one,  but  I  knew  that  instead  of 
being  outgrown  it  would  become  ingrown,  and  I 
so  told  him. 

But  he  decided  to  postpone  action  until  some 
later  date,  feeling  sure,  despite  what  I  had  told 
him,  that  he  would  outgrow  his  stammering. 

Four  and  a  half  years  later,  he  came  back. 
This  time  he  did  not  say  that  his  friends  knew 
nothing  of  his  trouble.  Pie  was  in  bad  condition, 
his  "seldom  stammering,"  as  he  had  called  it,  was 
chronic  now  and  the  painful  expression  on  his 
face  when  he  tried  to  talk  was  ample  proof  of  the 
condition  in  which  he  had  allowed  himself  to  get. 
His  trouble  had  passed  into  Genuine  Stammer- 
ing and  was  of  a  very  severe  nature.  There  was 
no  thought  of  postponement  in  his  mind  at  this 
time  and  he  placed  himself  for  treatment  imme- 
diately. Eight  weeks'  time  saw  his  work  com- 
pleted, with  excellent  results.  His  fear  was  gone, 
his  confidence  renewed  and  his  health  greatly  im- 
proved, in  addition  to  being  able  to  talk  fluently. 

Case  No.  66.788 — Here  was  the  case  of  a  man 
of  30,  a  preacher,  who  found  no  difficulty  in 
preaching  to  his  congregation,  from  the  pulpit, 


224  STAMMERING 

but  whose  trouble  immediately  got  the  best  of 
him  the  moment  he  went  down  into  the  church 
and  attempted  to  carry  on  a  conversation  indi- 
vidually. This  became  so  embarrassing  to  him 
that  he  finally  gave  up  the  idea  of  passing 
through  his  congregation,  but  satisfied  himself 
with  standing  at  the  door  and  greeting  them  as 
they  passed  out.  This,  too,  he  was  later  com- 
pelled to  give  up  on  account  of  his  speech, 
although  during  none  of  this  time  did  he  have  the 
slightest  trouble  in  delivering  his  sermons. 

His  was  a  case  of  Genuine  Stammering.  The 
mental  control  when  he  was  in  the  pulpit  was 
almost  normal.  Talking  to  individuals,  this  con- 
trol was  quickly  shattered.  He  placed  himself 
for  treatment  after  having  secured  a  brother- 
pastor  to  fill  his  place  for  two  months.  He  was 
a  good  student,  obedient  to  instruction,  concen- 
trating on  his  work  with  a  creditable  energy.  As 
a  result,  in  five  weeks'  time,  he  found  himself  able 
to  talk  to  anybody  under  any  condition  without 
the  slightest  sticking  or  fear.  He  could  talk 
over  the  telephone  and  was  master  of  himself 
under  the  cross-fire  of  conversation  which  in  his 
previous  state  had  bothered  him  so  seriously. 


ITS   CAUSE  AND    CURE  225 

Case  No.  48.336 — This  is  a  case  that  repre- 
sents a  very  common  type  of  Combined  Stam- 
mering and  Stuttering,  and  a  type  that  is  not  so 
quickly  cured  as  might  be  imagined.  This  was  a 
young  man  of  18,  who  not  only  stammered  but 
stuttered.  His  speech  disorder,  however,  was 
further  complicated  by  a  bad  habit  of  prefixing 
a  totally  foreign  word  or  sound  to  the  word  or 
sound  which  he  found  it  difficult  to  pronounce. 
"B"  was  one  of  his  hard  sounds  and  in  speaking 
the  sentence:  "We  expect  to  leave  Baltimore/* 
he  would  say:  "We  expect  to  leave  ah-ah-ah- 
Baltimore." 

The  fear  of  failure  which  caused  him  to  acquire 
this  habit  of  speaking,  led  his  friends  often  to 
think  that  his  mind  wandered,  although  as  a  mat- 
ter of  fact,  he  was  a  very  bright  young  fellow, 
without  a  single  indication  of  Thought  Lapse. 

I  diagnosed  his  case  as  Combined  Stammering 
and  Stuttering,  and  explained  to  him  that  he 
represented  a  type  of  stammering  that  might  be 
called  the  "Prefix  Stammerer"  because  of  their 
habit  of  prefixing  every  hard  sound  with  an  easy 
word  or  an  easy  sound,  even  to  the  extent  of 
losing  the  sense  of  the  sentence — so  great  is  the 
"Prefix  Stammerer's"  fear  of  failure. 


226  STAMMERING 

He  placed  himself  for  treatment,  and  although 
his  trouble  was  complicated  by  this  prefixing 
habit,  seven  weeks  put  him  in  good  shape.  He 
forgot  his  fear  of  failure,  found  every  word  an 
easy  word  and  every  sound  an  easy  sound.  He 
learned  to  talk  fluently  again  and  returned  to  his 
home,  both  physically  and  mentally  improved. 

Case  No.  98.656 — This  was  the  case  of  a  rather 
arrogant  young  man  from  a  good  family,  who 
was  too  proud  to  admit  that  he  was  a  stammerer. 
Rather  it  should  be  said,  he  was  too  foolish  to 
admit  it.  He  was  well-educated  and  with  the 
store  of  words  at  his  command,  succeeded  for 
some  years  in  concealing  the  fact  that  he  stam- 
mered. This  he  accomplished  by  the  substitu- 
tion of  words.  That  is,  words  beginning  with 
those  letters  that  he  could  not  utter  were  not 
used.  If  his  sentence  included  such  a  word,  he 
quickly  substituted  another  word  of  somewhat 
similar  meaning,  but  beginning  with  a  letter  that 
he  could  pronounce  correctly.  This  substitution 
of  words  was  so  well  done  that  for  some  time  it 
was  scarcely  noticeable  to  the  average  listener. 
Often  he  found  himself  incorrectly  understood, 
because  of  his  inability  to  use  the  right  word  in 


ITS   CAUSE   AND   CUBE  227 

the  right  place,  but  nevertheless  he  was  successful 
in  concealing  his  speech  defect  from  many  of  his 
friends. 

This  case  is  of  a  type  known  as  the  "Synonym 
Stammerer"  because  synonyms  are  used  to  avoid 
stammering.  The  mental  strain  of  trying  always 
to  substitute  easy  words  for  hard  ones,  was  very 
great,  however,  and  after  a  few  years'  practice, 
the  strain  began  to  tell  on  the  young  man.  It 
affected  his  health  and  made  him  nervous  and 
irritable. 

It  was  at  this  time  that  he  came  to  me.  Gen- 
uine Stammering  was  his  trouble,  and  so  it  was 
diagnosed.  He  refused  to  admit  that  he  had  a 
severe  case,  although  the  truth  of  the  matter  was, 
he  did  stammer  badly  and  the  mental  power  which 
had  sustained  him  in  his  attempts  to  speak,  was 
being  steadily  weakened  by  what  we  might  term 
misuse. 

He  placed  himself  for  treatment,  although  in 
a  frame  of  mind  that  did  not  augur  well  for  his 
success,  but  by  the  end  of  the  third  day  his  mental 
attitude  had  entirely  changed,  he  came  to  realize 
the  immense  difference  between  being  able  to 
speak  fluently  and  naturally  and  being  compelled 
to  substitute  synonyms.  From  that  day  forth  he 

15 


228  STAMMERING 

was  one  of  my  best  students.  His  education 
stood  him  in  good  stead,  his  enthusiasm  was  so 
spontaneous  as  to  be  contagious  and  at  the  end 
of  four  and  a  half  weeks,  he  departed,  as  thor- 
oughly changed  for  the  better  as  anyone  could 
wish.  The  arrogance  was  gone.  In  its  place  was 
something  better — a  sure-footed  confidence  in  his 
ability  to  talk — and  this  was  a  confidence  based 
on  real  ability — not  on  bluff.  He  was  no  longer 
nervous  and  irritable — and  in  fact,  before  leav- 
ing, he  had  won  his  way  into  the  hearts  of  his  as- 
sociates to  the  extent  that  all  were  sorry  when  he 
left  and  felt  that  they  had  made  the  acquaintance 
of  a  young  man  of  remarkable  power. 

Five  years  later,  I  met  him  in  New  York,  quite 
by  accident.  He  was  in  charge  of  his  father's 
business,  had  made  a  wonderful  success  of  his 
work  and  was  universally  respected  and  admired 
by  those  who  knew  him.  Even  to  this  young 
man,  who  to  many  would  have  seemed  to  have  all 
that  he  could  desire,  freedom  of  speech  opened 
new  and  greater  opportunities. 

If  I  had  the  space  to  do  so  within  the  covers 
of  one  volume,  I  would  gladly  give  many  more 
cases,  with  description  and  diagnosis  as  well  as 
results  of  treatment.  Specific  cases  are  always 


ITS   CAUSE   AND   CUKE  229 

interesting,  illuminating  and  conclusive.  They 
show  theory  in  practice  and  opinions  backed  by 
actual  results. 

But  lack  of  space  makes  it  impossible  to  give 
additional  cases  here.  Those  which  have  been 
given  are  typical  cases — not  the  unusual  ones. 
The  out-of-the-ordinary  cases  have  been  avoided 
and  the  common  types  dwelt  upon  with  the  idea 
of  "giving  the  greatest  good  to  the  greatest 
number." 

Every  reader  of  this  volume  who  lives  today 
under  the  constant  handicap  of  a  speech  disorder, 
may  well  take  new  hope  from  the  thought  that 
"What  man  hath  done,  man  can  do" — again! 


PART  IV 
SETTING  THE  TONGUE  FREE 


CHAPTER  I 

THE  JOY  OF  PEBFECT  SPEECH 

IF  you  stammer — if  you  are  afraid  to  try  to 
talk  for  fear  you  will  fail — if  you  are  nervous, 
self-conscious  and  retiring  because  of  your  stam- 
mering— then  you  don't  realize  the  Magic  Power 
of  Perfect  Speech.  You  don't  realize  what  per- 
fect speech  will  mean  to  you.  Listen  to  this — 
from  a  young  woman  who  stammered — who  was 
cured — and  who  knows: 

"The  most  wonderful  thing  has  happened  to  me.  What 
do  jou  think  it  isf  I  have  been  cured  of  stammering.  You 
have  no  idea  how  different  it  is  to  be  able  to  talk.  I  just 
feel  like  I  could  fly  I'm  so  happy.  Just  think,  I  can  talk 
I'm  so  glad,  eo  glad,  so  glad,  it's  over.  I  just  feel  like 
jumping  up  and  down  and  shouting  and  telling  everybody 
about  it.  I  never  was  so  happy  in  my  life — I  never  was  so 
glad  about  anything  as  I  am  about  this." 

That  is  the  way  she  feels  after  being  entirely 
freed  from  her  stammering — after  learning  to 


ITS   CAUSE   AND   CURE  231 

talk  freely  and  fluently  without  difficulty,  hesita- 
tion or  fear-of-failure. 

And  here  are  the  words  of  a  young  man  who 
has  just  found  his  speech: 

"The  Bogue  Cure  is  marvelous.  It  is  just  like  making  a 
blind  man  see.  It  is  remarkable.  The  sensation  of  being 
able  to  talk  after  stammering  for  twenty-five  years  is  won- 
derful." 

And  another  young  woman — this  time  from  Mis- 
souri: 

"That  sir  weeks  was  the  beginning  of  life  for  me.  All  my 
life  I  have  had  a  dread  of  trying  to  speak  which  made  life 
most  unpleasant.  I  do  not  have  it  now — I  love  to  meet 
people." 

The  joy  of  perfect  speech — 

The  wonderful  exhilaration  of  being  able  to  say 
anything  you  want  to  say  whenever  you  want  to 
say,  to  whomsoever  you  desire  to  speak. 

"I  can  talk" — that  sums  it  all  up.  With  that 
assurance  comes  the  feeling  of  the  innocent  man 
freed  from  a  long  term  in  prison — the  sense  of 
completeness  and  wholeness  and  ability,  the  feel- 
ing that  you  are  equal  to  others  in  every  way, 
that  you  can  compete  with  them  and  talk  with 
them  and  associate  with  them  on  a  plane  of 
equality. 

Such  is  the  Joy  of  Perfect  Speech!! 


232  STAMMERING 

To  know  that  the  haunting  fear  is  gone — that 
the  shackles  have  fallen  away,  the  chains  are 
broken. 

To  know  that  you  are  free — delivered  from 
bondage. 

What  a  feeling — what  a  sensation — 

Living  itself  is  worth-while.  Life  means  more. 
The  sun  shines  brighter,  the  grass  is  greener,  the 
flowers  are  more  beautiful  while  friends  and  rela- 
tives seem  closer,  kinder  and  dearer  than  ever 
before. 

The  Joy  of  Perfect  Speech! 

No  words  can  paint  the  picture,  no  tongue 
describe  the  lofty  feeling  of  elation  which  crowns 
the  man  or  woman  or  boy  or  girl  who  has  stam- 
mered and  has  been  set  free. 


CHAPTER  II 

HOW  TO  DETERMINE  WHETHER  YOU 
CAN  BE  CURED 

YOU  can  either  be  cured  of  your  trouble — or 
you  cannot.  If  you  can,  why  should  you  go 
about  hesitating,  stumbling,  sticking,  stammering 
and  stuttering? 

Why  should  you  deny  yourself  the  privileges 
of  society,  the  advantages  of  opportunity,  the 
fruits  of  success — if  you  can  be  completely  and 
permanently  cured  of  the  trouble  which  handi- 
caps you  and  holds  you  back? 

Why  should  you  live  a  HALF  LIFE  as  a  stam- 
merer, if  you  can  be  cured  and  live  the  complete, 
joyous,  happy,  overflowing  life? 

Why  should  you  be  content  with  failure  or 
half-success  if  the  triumphant  power  to  accom- 
plish, the  masterful  will  to  succeed  is  right  within 
your  grasp? 

Why  should  you  continue  to  stammer  if  you 
can  be  cured? 

The  answer  is,  YOU  SHOULD  NOT. 

The  first  step,  therefore,  is  to  determine  defi- 


234  STAMMERING 

nitely  and  accurately  whether  you  are  in  a  cur- 
able stage  of  your  trouble  and  whether  you  can 
be  completely  and  permanently  cured. 

These  things  you  cannot  determine  for  your- 
self. You  have  no  facilities  for  determining  the 
facts.  You  lack  the  scientific  knowledge  upon 
which  such  conclusions  must  be  based.  You  can- 
not diagnose  your  case  of  stammering  any  more 
than  you  could  accurately  diagnose  a  highly  com- 
plex nervous  disease.  In  order,  therefore,  that 
the  most  important  of  all  questions,  viz. :  "Can 
I  be  Cured?"  may  be  correctly  and  authorita- 
tively answered,  I  am  willing  to  diagnose  your 
case  and  give  you  a  typewritten  report  of  your 
condition,  telling  you  whether  or  not  you  are  still 
in  a  curable  stage. 

It  goes  without  saying  that  this  diagnosis  must 
be  based  upon  a  description  of  the  case  in  ques- 
tion. This  description  must  be  accurate  and  re- 
liable as  well  as  thorough.  In  order  to  insure 
this,  I  furnish  with  each  book  a  Diagnosis  Blank, 
which  when  properly  filled  out,  gives  me  the  in- 
formation necessary  to  determine  the  durability 
of  the  case,  as  well  as  to  furnish  much  other 
valuable  information  about  the  individual's  con- 
dition. 


ITS   CAUSE   AND   CURE  235 

In  no  case,  will  I  undertake  to  pass  on  the  cur- 
ability of  the  stammerer  without  a  diagnosis  first 
being  made.  You  want  the  opinion  which  I  give 
you  to  be  authoritative  and  dependable — a  report 
in  which  you  can  place  your  entire  confidence.  I 
cannot  give  such  a  report  by  merely  hazarding  a 
guess  as  to  your  condition.  I  must  base  my  re- 
port on  the  actual  facts  as  they  exist.  I  must 
make  a  careful  study  of  your  symptoms,  deter- 
mine what  your  peculiar  combination  of  symp- 
toms indicates,  find  out  the  nature  of  your 
trouble,  determine  its  severity. 

When  you  have  returned  the  blank — and  when 
I  have  furnished  you  with  the  diagnosis  of  your 
case,  you  can  depend  upon  it  to  be  accurate, 
authoritative,  definite  and  positive.  It  will  give 
you  the  plain  facts  about  your  trouble — be  those 
facts  good  or  bad. 


THE  BOGUE  GUARANTEE  AND 
WHAT  IT  MEANS 

NO  matter  what  caused  your  stammering,  no 
matter  how  old  you  are,  how  long  you  have 
stammered,  how  many  times  you  have  tried  to  be 
cured — no  matter  what  you  think  about  your  case 
or  whether  you  believe  it  to  be  curable — if  I  have 
diagnosed  your  trouble  and  pronounced  it  cur- 
able, then  I  can  cure  YOU. 

By  the  application  of  the  Bogue  Unit  Method, 
I  can  eradicate  the  cause  of  your  trouble  at  its 
very  source,  and  re-establish  normal  co-ordina- 
tion between  your  brain  and  the  muscles  of 
speech,  removing  every  trace  of  that  "mental 
expectancy"  which  you  call  "fear-of-failure." 

I  can  show  you  how  to  place  your  articulation 
under  perfect  control,  how  to  make  the  formation 
of  words  an  easy  process  involving  no  apparent 
mental  effort  or  noticeable  physical  exertion. 

I  can  teach  you  how  to  produce  any  sound  or 
combination  of  sounds,  how  to  make  every  word 
an  easy  word  and  every  sound  an  easy  sound. 


ITS   CAUSE   AND   CURE  237 

I  can  show  you  how  to  talk  without  stammer- 
ing— how  to  talk  just  as  freely  and  fluently  as 
any  normal  person  who  has  never  stammered. 

I  not  only  claim  to  be  able  to  do  this  for  you, 
I  back  it  up  with  a  past  record  of  success  in  treat- 
ing hundreds  of  cases  similar  to  your  own.  Like 
cures  like.  What  has  cured  others  like  you,  will 
cure  YOU.  But  I  don't  ask  you  to  risk  a  single 
penny  upon  even  that  evidence  and  proof.  The 
moment  you  enroll  in  the  Bogue  Institute,  I  will 
issue  to  you  and  place  in  your  hands,  a  written 
Guarantee  Certificate,  over  my  own  signature, 
binding  me  to  cure  you  of  stammering  or  refund 
every  cent  of  the  money  which  you  have  paid  me 
for  tuition  fee,  and  asking  you  only  to  follow  the 
easy  instructions  given  under  the  Bogue  Unit 
Method. 

You  are  to  be  the  sole  judge  as  to  whether  or 
not  you  follow  instructions. 

I  will  leave  it  entirely  to  you  to  decide.  All  I 
ask  of  you  is  full  opportunity  to  do  my  best  for 
you  and  absolute  honesty,  such  as  you  expect  and 
will  receive  from  me. 

I  want  to  be  absolutely  fair  with  you — I  want 
to  cure  you  as  I  have  cured  myself  and  hundreds 
of  other  stammerers.  I  do  not  want  a  dollar  of 


238  STAMMERING 

your  money  unless  I  have  given  you  a  dollar's 
worth  of  benefit  in  return.  I  would  not  keep  a 
penny  of  the  money  that  you  might  have  paid  me 
for  cure  of  your  stammering  unless  I  had  actually 
cured  you,  provided,  of  course,  that  you  had  fol- 
lowed the  instructions  which  anybody  of  ordinary 
intelligence  over  eight  years  of  age  can  easily 
follow. 

I  have  no  fear  of  your  dealing  dishonestly  with 
me.  I  know  enough  about  human  nature  to  know 
that  all  you  want  is  to  be  cured — and  you  under- 
stand that  to  be  cured  you  must  co-operate  with 
me  to  that  end.  I  can  cure  your  stammering  only 
with  your  co-operation — just  as  a  music  teacher 
can  make  a  pianist  of  you  only  with  your  co-oper- 
ative and  sincere  effort.  Therefore,  I  ask  only 
that  you  follow  my  instructions  carefully  and 
faithfully — and  I  guarantee  to  bestow  upon  you 
the  same  gift  of  Perfect  Speech  that  I  have  be- 
stowed upon  hundreds  of  now-happy  men  and 
women — and  I  put  that  guarantee  in  writing 
over  my  personal  signature. 


CHAPTER  IV 

THE  CURE  IS  PERMANENT 

NO  one  who  stammers  should  put  any  faith 
in  a  cure  for  his  trouble  unless  the  results 
are  known  to  be  permanent.  A  temporary  cure 
is  no  cure  at  all  and  should  be  avoided,  for  it  is 
merely  a  means  of  wasting  money. 

The  Bogue  Unit  Method  brings  about  not  only 
a  complete  but  a  permanent  cure.  The  secret  of 
its  success  as  far  as  permanency  is  concerned,  lies 
in  the  fact  that  the  basic  cause  of  the  trouble  is 
removed  at  its  very  source,  the  wrong  methods 
rooted  out  and  the  correct  methods  installed  in 
their  place. 

Once  this  process  is  completed  and  the  cure 
effected,  the  cure  is  permanently  insured,  because 
its  very  cause  is  gone.  You  cannot  stammer 
without  a  cause — everyone  understands  that. 

The  proof  of  the  permanency  of  the  cure  is 
attested  by  the  many  letters  from  those  who 
were  here  ten,  fifteen,  twenty  years  ago.  A 
woman  cured  at  the  Institute  ten  years  ago 
writes: 


240  STAMMERING 

"At  14  I  was  a  very  bad  stammerer.  I  then  attended  the 
Bogue  Institute,  where  I  was  completely  cured  in  a  few 
weeks.  I  then  secured  a  position  as  saleslady  in  one  of  our 
leading  stores  where  I  have  been  called  upon  to  handle  aa 
many  as  one  hundred  sales  in  a  single  day.  I  have  never 
stammered  once.  My  cure  has  been  absolutely  perfect  for 
the  past  ten  years.  It  was  certainly  a  lucky  day  that  I 
walked  into  Mr.  Bogue's  office  the  first  time." 

Another  excellent  proof  of  the  permanency  of 
the  cure,  is  the  subjection  of  the  cured  student  to 
tremendous  mental  and  nervous  strain.  Many  of 
our  former  students  were  in  the  Great  War, 
numbers  of  them  right  up  in  the  front  line  where 
the  fighting  was  stiffest  and  where  the  nervous 
and  mental  strain  was  terrific.  Even  under  this 
test  (which  was  enough  to  make  a  normal  person 
become  a  stammerer — and  many  of  them  did) 
the  results  of  the  Bogue  Unit  Method  held  them 
to  normal  speech.  One  young  man  writes : 

"I  completely  regained  my  speech  at  the  Bogue  Institute 
in  1915.  I  enlisted  in  the  army  and  was  sent  overseas  in  the 
spring  of  '18,  and  went  through  some  of  the  hardest  fighting 
the  42nd  Division  was  in,  that  being  the  Division  I  woa 
transferred  to,  and  am  happy  to  say  the  speech  trouble  has 
never  come  back  on  me.  I  was  wounded  by  a  fragment  of 
high  explosive  shell.  One  hit  me  under  the  right  arm,  frac- 
turing two  ribs.  Another  struck  my  shoulder  and  a  piece 
ranged  downward  into  my  right  lung,  which  now  remains 
there.  I  developed  tuberculosis  in  November,  in  all  prob- 
ability from  exposure  as  much  as  the  wound.  I  was  evacn- 


ITS   CAUSE  AND   CURE  241 

ated  to  the  U.  S.  early  last  winter  and  sent  to  this  place, 
where  I  am  rapidly  regaining  my  health  and  expect  to  be 
discharged  about  September  1st. 

"With  all  the  hard  experience  I  went  through,  stammer- 
ing did  not  come  back  to  me.  I  have  never  regretted  the 
time  I  spent  with  your  Institute,  and  I  have  only  the  highest 
words  of  praise  for  the  work  being  done  in  the  Bogue  Insti- 
tute." 

Another  severe  test  of  a  cure  of  stammering  is  an 
illness  such  as  may  have  brought  the  trouble  on 
in  the  first  place.  If  the  stammerer,  for  instance, 
can  undergo  an  attack  of  influenza  or  pneumonia 
and  come  out  of  it  without  difficulty,  it  proves 
beyond  all  question  of  a  doubt  that  the  cure  is 
permanent. 

For  that  reason,  I  wish  to  quote  the  letter  of 
an  Illinois  boy  who  says : 

"I  am  getting  along  fine  with  my  speech.  I  am  sure  I  will 
never  stammer  again.  I  was  sick  the  week  after  Christmu 
with  pneumonia  but  it  did  not  bother  me  a  bit." 

Another  young  man  says : 

"It  is  now  nearly  six  months  since  I  left  the  Institute  and 
in  that  time  I  have  not  stammered  a  word.  What  do  yon 
think  about  thatf  It  surely  is  fine.  But  you  know  that.  I 
was  in  Chicago  last  week  and  visited  friends  and  saw  a  doc- 
tor friend  of  mine  who  did  not  know  that  I  had  been  away, 
so  he  just  stood  there  and  looked  at  me,  and  said,  'You  are 
talking  fine.  How  did  you  learn  thatf 

"I  told  him  and  then  talked  to  him  for  four  hours  and  he 
said  it  was  the  best  thing  that  had  ever  happened  to  me." 


242  STAMMERING 

Another  letter,  this  time  from  Honolulu  and 
from  a  man  who  attended  the  Institute  a  number 
of  years  ago,  says : 

"Just  to  let  you  know  that  I  am  still  alive  and  enjoying 
life  as  I  never  have  before.  I  have  forgotten  that  I  ever 
stammered.  Sincere  thanks  to  you." 

This  young  man  is  now  an  engineer  in  the  em- 
ploy of  the  United  Shipping  Board. 

These  letters  give  the  answer  better  than  I 
can — better  than  any  scientist  can — because  they 
tell  the  real  truth  taken  from  the  experience  of 
those  who  have  tried  and  know — 

First — That  stammering  can  be  cured  by  the 
Bogue  Unit  Method! 

Second — That  the  cure  is  a  permanent  cure ! 


CHAPTER  V 

A  PRICELESS  GIFT — AN  EVERLASTING 
INVESTMENT 

fTlHERE  is  no  gift  that  can  take  the  place  of 
_I_  perfect  speech.  It  is  beyond  price — and  the 
person  who  talks  after  stammering  would  give  all 
his  possessions  to  keep  from  going  back  again  to 
stammering. 

But  Freedom-of-Speech  is  more  than  a  price- 
less gift — it  is  a  wonderful  investment.  Should 
you  ask:  "Does  it  pay  to  be  cured  of  stammer- 
ing?" the  answer  could  be  nothing  but  "Yes" — 
and  there  is  evidence  aplenty  to  prove  it. 
One  young  man  writes : 

"I  have  never  enjoyed  life  as  I  have  since  I  left  the  Insti- 
tute, both  in  a  business  and  social  way.  I  am  to  get  a  25% 
increase  in  my  salary  the  first  of  the  month,  which  is  at  least 
partially  due  to  my  wonderful  perfection  of  speech." 

Does  it  pay — ?  Does  a  25  per  cent,  increase  in 
salary  pay?  Here  is  the  case  of  a  young  woman 
who  was  about  to  lose  her  position  because  of  her 
imperfection  in  speech — yet  when  she  returned 

16 


244  STAMMERING 

home  after  being  cured  at  the  Institute,  she 
wrote : 

"I  was  very  much  surprised  when  I  went  down  to  the  office 
yesterday  to  find  that  I  was  going  to  get  my  place  back 

again.    This  evening,  Mr.  told  me  that  I  was  to  get 

a  33%%  raise  at  the  end  of  next  week,  so  my  stay  with  you 
has  already  begun  to  pay  dividends." 

Freedom-from-Stammering  pays — in  dollars  and 
cents.  On  a  cold  business  basis,  it  is  one  of  the 
best  investments  to  be  made.  One  man  who  at- 
tended here  a  few  years  ago  was  a  fireman  in  a 
large  factory,  stoking  boilers  all  day  long.  To- 
day he  is  salesman — and  the  head  salesman  at 
that — for  the  same  firm — he  makes  as  much  as 
the  President  of  the  firm.  He  works  on  com- 
mission— and  he  knows  how  to  talk  so  as  to  sell. 

Another  man  was  section  foreman  when  he 
took  his  course  at  the  Bogue  Institute.  Today 
he  is  manager  of  one  of  a  great  chain  of  big  retail 
stores  and  makes  more  in  one  day  than  he  used  to 
make  in  two  weeks. 

Another  case  is  that  of  a  young  man  from  New 
York  State,  who  gave  up  his  position  to  come  to 
the  Bogue  Institute  and  be  free  from  stammer- 
ing. Six  weeks  later  he  went  home.  Like  the 
other  young  man  mentioned  above,  he  met  with 


ITS   CAUSE  AND   CURE  245 

a  success-surprise — he  was  re-employed  by  his  old 
employers — and  he,  too,  was  given  a  25  per  cent, 
increase  in  salary. 

So,  you  see,  freedom  from  stammering  pays — 
pays  splendidly  and  continuously  for  all  the  rest 
of  your  life.  It  pays  in  satisfaction,  in  content- 
ment, in  happiness  and  ability  to  associate  with 
others  on  a  plane  of  speech-equality. 

It  pays  in  better  salaries  and  bigger  earning 
power — in  opportunities  opened  and  chances 
made  possible  to  you  that  are  closed  to  the  one 
who  stammers. 

The  world's  successful  men  and  women  do  not 
stammer.  The  happy,  contented  people  do  not 
stammer.  The  money-makers  do  not  stumble  and 
stick  and  stutter  when  they  talk. 

To  be  successful  you  must  know  how  to  talk. 
If  you  stammer  today,  make  your  plans  to  get 
out  from  under  the  handicap — remember  that  it 
will  pay  you  and  pay  you  well. 


CHAPTER  VI 

THE  HOME  OF  PERFECT  SPEECH 

rriHE  BOQUE  INSTITUTE  of  Indianapolis  is 
JL  truly  the  home  of  perfect  speech.  For  in  no 
other  place  can  be  found  the  things  that  are  found 
here.  Nowhere  else  is  there  that  silent  sympathy 
with  the  moods  of  the  one  who  stammers.  No- 
where else  is  there  that  home-like  atmosphere, 
that  all-prevading  spirit  of  helpfulness  and  cheer- 
fulness and  good-will. 

No  matter  how  discouraged  the  stammerer 
may  be,  no  matter  how  tired  or  nervous  or  self- 
conscious — no  matter  how  shy  or  shrinking  from 
the  gaze  of  others — no  matter  how  timid  or  filled- 
with-f  ear  the  mind,  the  attitude  begins  to  change 
within  an  hour  after  his  arrival. 

For  this  is  the  home  of  perfect  speech.  Suc- 
cess is  in  the  air.  Every  step  I  take  counteracts 
the  tendency  to  fear  and  worry  and  strain.  I 
know  what  the  stammerer  needs.  I  know  the 
things  that  need  to  be  done  to  quiet  the  hyper- 
nervous  case.  I  know  what  to  do  to  banish  that 
intense  self-consciousness  and  make  the  student 


ITS   CAUSE   AND   CURE  247 

self-forgetful.  These  things  have  been  learned 
by  experience.  And  these  gained-by-experience 
methods  start  the  student  in  the  right  way  from 
the  very  first  hour. 

Pupils  Are  Met  at  the  Train:  We  are  glad 
to  meet  pupils  at  the  Union  Station,  where  all 
trains  over  steam  roads  arrive,  if  the  student 
informs  us  beforehand  (either  by  letter  or  tele- 
gram) the  road  over  which  he  is  coming  arid 
the  time  he  will  arrive  in  this  city.  There  is  no 
charge  for  this,  it  being  merely  a  part  of  the 
courtesy  extended  to  students  who  are  unfamiliar 
with  the  location  of  the  Institute.  A  small  bow 
of  blue  ribbon  should  be  worn  as  a  means  of 
identification. 

When  You  Arrive:  If  you  have  not  written 
or  telegraphed  us  to  meet  you  at  the  railway  sta- 
tion, as  soon  as  you  arrive  go  to  the  telephone 
booth  and  call  the  Bogue  Institute  and  a  repre- 
sentative of  the  institute  will  be  sent  for  you 
promptly. 

Your  Baggage:  The  transfer  of  baggage  from 
the  station  to  the  Institute  will  be  attended  to  by 


248  STAMMERING 

our  office.  The  Baggage  Transfer  makes  reg- 
ular trips  to  the  Institute  for  the  purpose  of 
looking  after  the  baggage  of  new  students  as  well 
as  those  who  have  completed  the  course  and  are 
leaving  for  home. 

Entrance  Requirements:  It  is  necessary  that 
every  student  entering  the  Institute  be  of  normal 
intelligence  and  at  least  eight  years  of  age. 
Every  student  must  also  be  of  good  moral  char- 
acter and  must  be  able  to  speak  the  English 
language  sufficiently  well  to  take  the  instruction. 
When  a  stammerer  has  been  cured  in  one  lan- 
guage, however,  he  is  cured  in  all  languages. 
Rich  and  poor  are  here  treated  with  equal  kind- 
ness, courtesy  and  respect.  We  believe  in  those 
who  are  here  to  be  cured,  regardless  of  their 
station  in  life,  and  we  believe  in  helping  them 
accomplish  that  purpose  in  as  short  a  time  as  is 
consistent  with  the  results  which  they  desire. 

Grounds  and  Buildings:  The  Institute  Build- 
ing and  Dormitory  stand  in  a  large  lot,  ideally 
located,  in  a  desirable  residential  neighborhood 
away  from  the  dirt,  dust,  noise  and  clamor  of  the 
city  and  yet  not  so  far  out  as  to  be  in  the  least 
removed  from  the  city's  activities. 


ITS   CAUSE   AND   CUKE  249 

Board  and  Room  for  Students:  The  Institute 
maintains  its  own  Dormitory  and  Boarding  De- 
partment under  the  direct  and  immediate  super- 
vision of  the  Institute  authorities.  To  the  right 
of  the  Main  Dormitory  Building  as  you  enter 
will  be  found  the  Dormitory  for  girls  and  women, 
while  on  the  left  are  located  the  General  Offices 
and  the  Dormitory  for  boys  and  men.  Every 
facility  has  been  provided  for  the  comfort  and 
happiness  of  our  pupils  while  at  the  Institute. 
Room,  board,  heat,  light,  hot  and  cold  baths  and 
all  other  comforts  and  conveniences  are  provided. 

Sleeping  Rooms:  The  pupils*  sleeping  rooms 
and  apartments  are  large,  well-lighted,  and  well- 
ventilated.  They  are  comfortable  both  summer 
and  winter,  ample  facilities  being  provided  to  heat 
the  entire  building  comfortably  at  all  times. 

All  of  the  sleeping  rooms  as  well  as  the  entire 
Dormitory  and  class-room  are  lighted  with  elec- 
tricity. Each  room  contains  furnishings  neces- 
sary to  make  the  room  comfortable  and  home-like. 
Bath  and  face  towels  are  furnished  without  extra 
cost,  as  is  all  necessary  bedding  and  linen.  Com- 
modious and  spacious  bathrooms,  with  running 


250  STAMMERING 

water,  and  modern  equipment  are  furnished  for 
the  exclusive  use  of  pupils. 

Dining  Room:  Two  large,  airy  and  well- 
ventilated  dining  rooms  are  located  in  the  Main 
Dormitory  Building.  Here  are  served  all  meals, 
made  up  in  the  most  appetizing  manner — whole- 
some menus  planned  for  the  special  needs  of  the 
type  of  students  who  come  here.  There  is  no 
dieting,  but  meals  are  carefully  balanced  and 
highly  seasoned  dishes  or  injurious  food  com- 
binations are  eliminated. 

Every  meal  is  prepared  under  the  direct  super- 
vision of  an  experienced  chef.  Under  this  direc- 
tion our  pupils  are  served  with  some  of  the  most 
delicious  and  healthful  viands  which  can  be  put 
together — all  of  which  is  evidenced  by  the  stu- 
dents* enthusiastic  approbation  of  the  Institute 
table  fare. 

Scrupulous  Cleanliness:  Every  part  of  the 
Institute  Buildings  is  kept  scrupulously  clean — 
every  day  in  the  year.  In  this  respect  the  Bogue 
Institute  surpasses  many  of  the  best  hotels. 

Library:  The  leading  papers  and  magazines 
are  constantly  available  and  we  encourage  stu- 


ITS   CAUSE  AND   CURE  251 

dents  to  keep  in  touch  with  the  world  of  events 
by  regular  reading. 

How  the  Time  is  Spent:   The  order  of  the  day 
is  as  follows: 

6:30  A.  M Arise 

7  to  8  A.  M Breakfast 

8  to  9  A.  M Special  Study 

9  to  11  A.  M Morning  Treatment  Period 

11  to  12  A.  M..  .  .Progress  Tests,  Special  Exam- 

ination and  Personal  Instruction 

12  to  2  P.  M Luncheon  Period 

2  to  4  P.  M Class  Instruction 

4  to  6  P.  M Recreation 

6  P.  M Dinner 

8  P.  M..  .Children's  Junior  Class  Retiring  Hour 

9  P.  M..  .Children's  Senior  Class  Retiring  Hour 
10  P.  M Adults'  Last  Retiring  Hour 

There  are  no  classes  on  Saturday  afternoon  nor 
on  Sundays  or  holidays.  There  are  no  evening 
or  night  classes  at  any  time  and  no  student  may 
enroll  who  is  not  in  a  position  to  devote  all  the 
needed  time  to  the  pursuit  of  the  work.  There 


252  STAMMERING 

is  no  part-time  course,  permitting  the  student  to 
work  or  go  to  public  or  high  school  while  attend- 
ing the  Bogue  Institute.  The  work  here  is  too 
important  to  become  a  "side-issue."  We  insist 
that  it  be  the  student's  regular  and  only  absorb- 
ing activity. 

Lectures:  From  time  to  time  during  the  year, 
open  lectures  are  given  by  myself  and  assistant 
instructors  dealing  with  the  fundamentals  of 
speech  or  kindred  subjects  aimed  to  make  for  the 
students'  rapid  progress.  These  lectures  are  im- 
portant and  must  be  attended  by  every  student. 

A  Carefully-Planned  Course:  Every  step  of 
the  student's  course  from  the  time  of  arising  in 
the  morning  to  the  time  of  retiring  at  night,  is 
planned  for  the  best  results.  Experience  has 
taught  us  what  is  best  and  the  day's  program  is 
built  upon  the  lines  of  greatest  progress  in  a 
given  time.  There  are  no  haphazard  steps  in  this 
program — each  activity  accomplishes  a  desirable 
and  necessary  result.  These  are  the  things  that 
make  for  sure  and  rapid  success — and  which 
insure  that  every  day  shall  show  progress  over 
the  day  before. 


ITS   CAUSE   AND   CURE  253 

In  the  work  of  the  Bogue  Institute  every  stu- 
dent's course  is  under  my  direct  and  personal 
supervision  and  direction.  I  am,  of  course,  nec- 
essarily aided  by  assistant  instructors,  each  of 
whom  was  selected  with  especial  reference  to 
his  fitness  for  the  work  which  is  entrusted  to 
him. 

Every  Teacher  a  Specialist:  Each  one  is  a 
specialist — a  master,  backed  not  only  by  a 
thorough  experience  in  the  Bogue  Institute,  but 
also  having  served  an  extended  apprenticeship 
under  my  personal  instruction. 

Every  specialist  responsible  for  any  depart- 
ment of  our  instruction  must  meet  certain 
rigid  qualifications.  First,  they  must  be  well- 
educated,  refined  and  of  the  best  character.  They 
must  understand  the  stammerer's  difficulty  from 
a  moral  and  mental  standpoint  as  well  as  from 
a  technical  standpoint.  They  must  maintain  a 
naturally  sympathetic,cheerful  and  helpful  frame 
of  mind  at  all  times  and  must  be  able  to  prove 
that  the  training  under  my  hand  has  thoroughly 
qualified  them  to  serve  the  pupils  of  the  Bogue 
Institute. 

The  long  period  of  training  and  apprentice- 


254  STAMMERING 

ship,  which  has  always  been  an  outstanding 
feature  of  our  methods,  could  be  done  away  with, 
should  I  desire  to  cheapen  the  instruction.  In- 
experienced instructors  could  be  employed  for 
less  than  half  the  compensation  of  the  experts 
I  now  employ — but  these  things  could  be  sacri- 
ficed only  at  the  expense  of  results.  For  many 
years  the  superiority  of  the  Bogue  Institute 
faculty  has  been  nationally  recognized  and  this 
reputation  we  are  today  maintaining  —  and 
improving,  where  this  is  possible. 


CHAPTER  VII 

MY  MOTHEE  AND  THE  HOME  LIFE  AT  THE 
INSTITUTE 

THE  home  life  at  the  Bogue  Institute  can- 
not be  mentioned  without  also  mentioning 
my  mother  and  the  work  she  has  done  and  is  do- 
ing to  make  this  truly  a  home  life.  This  is  her  work 
and  she  has  succeeded.  She  represents  the  pivotal 
point  around  which  that  home  life  turns  and  she 
is  the  guiding  spirit  that  makes  the  Institute  a 
real  home  for  those  who  come  here.  It  is  her 
beneficent  smile  that  makes  you  feel  at  home 
when  you  arrive,  her  kindly  influence  which 
makes  you  feel  at  home  during  your  whole  stay 
and  her  smiling  God-speed  when  you  go,  that 
makes  you  wish  it  were  not  time  to  leave. 

Under  Mother  Bogue's  direction,  the  Institute 
is  a  busy,  happy,  cheerful  and  well-ordered  home 
for  the  big  and  happy  family  that  it  houses. 

Music  is  here  for  those  who  wish  to  play. 
Games  and  books  and  magazines  for  those  who 
would  thus  entertain  themselves  and  others.  We 
are  acquainted  with  the  truth  that  "all  work 


256  STAMMERING 

makes  Jack  a  dull  boy — and  Jill  a  dull  girl" — 
and  wholesome  and  worth-while  amusements  and 
diversions  are  provided  for  all  ages  and  all  occa- 
sions. These  amusements  are  for  those  who  wish 
them — those  who  do  not  can  always  find  rest  and 
quiet  in  their  own  rooms. 

Rowdyism  is  absent.  The  hoodlum  is  not  here. 
We  find  no  difficulty  in  establishing  standards  of 
conduct  that  become  the  lady  and  the  gentleman 
— and  the  regulations  that  are  in  effect  are  based 
upon  the  belief  that  those  who  come  here  can 
and  will  measure  up  to  these  standards. 

Unity  of  Purpose:  One  of  the  distinct  advan- 
tages of  the  plan  whereby  all  students  live  in  the 
Institute  Dormitory  is  that  all  who  are  here  have 
come  for  a  purpose  and  bear  that  thought  in 
mind.  The  student  who  sits  beside  you  at  the 
table  is  here  for  the  same  purpose  as  yourself. 
You  are  both  working  for  the  same  thing — work- 
ing earnestly,  enthusiastically,  seriously — and 
withal,  successfully — to  be  cured  of  stammering. 

What  does  this  mean? 

It  means  that  the  very  atmosphere  of  the  In- 
stitute is  saturated  with  energy,  enthusiasm  and 
the  spirit  of  successful  endeavor.  Determina- 


ITS   CAUSE   AND   CURE  257 

tion,  application,  success — these  things  are  in  the 
very  air  you  breathe.  The  spirit  that  carries  an 
army  to  victory  is  here — to  carry  you  to  victory 
and  success. 

Absolute  Privacy  in  Treatment:  There  is 
absolutely  no  publicity  connected  with  the  attend- 
ance of  any  student  at  the  Institute.  Many  stu- 
dents have  attended  without  even  their  families  or 
friends  being  aware  of  the  fact.  Others  have 
come  leaving  behind  the  impression  that  they 
were  visiting  friends — which  in  truth,  they  were, 
as  they  afterwards  found  those  connected  with 
the  Institute  to  be  sincere  and  worth-while 
friends,  indeed. 

Even  in  carrying  on  correspondence  regarding 
the  course,  no  one  need  know  anything  about 
your  intentions,  for  upon  no  occasion  does  the 
name  of  the  Institute  appear  on  the  outside  of 
any  letter  or  package  addressed  to  you.  Only 
the  name  "BENJAMIN  N.  BOGUE"  appears  to 
identify  the  letter. 

V 

At  no  time  will  your  name,  address  or  any 
information  about  you  in  connection  with  your 
name  be  published  or  discussed  in  any  public 
manner  whatsoever  without  your  permission. 


258  STAMMERING 

Care  of  the  Health:  Every  safeguard  is 
thrown  around  the  physical  welfare  of  those 
attending  the  Institute.  The  location  and  ex- 
traordinary sanitary  precautions  almost  preclude 
the  possibility  of  protracted  illness — this  was 
evidenced  by  the  startling  fact  that  during  the 
severe  and  nation-wide  influenza  epidemic  of  the 
fall  and  winter  of  1918-1919,  not  a  single  stu- 
dent of  the  Institute  was  taken  ill.  This  speaks 
wonders  for  the  remarkable  good  physical  con- 
dition of  the  many  students  who  were  here  at 
that  time. 

In  the  event,  however,  that  a  student  does 
become  ill,  the  Institute  House  Physician  is  at 
once  summoned  and  in  the  case  of  a  child,  this 
physician's  opinion  will  be  sent  immediately  to 
the  parents. 

In  illness  as  in  health,  the  kindly,  courteous 
and  yet  unobtrusive  services  of  Mother  Bogue 
are  at  the  disposal  of  the  student.  Every  care  is 
bestowed,  special  meals  provided  and  every  want 
looked  after  with  the  same  pains  as  if  the  student 
were  in  his  or  her  own  home. 

Christian  Influences:  Indianapolis  is  a  city  of 
numerous  beautiful  churches  of  all  denomi- 


ITS   CAUSE   AND   CURE  259 

nations,  many  of  which  are  in  the  immediate 
vicinity  of  the  Institute.  During  the  entire  stay, 
students  are  surrounded  by  the  very  best  moral 
and  religious  influences  and  each  Sunday  sees 
groups  of  students  leaving  the  Institute  to  attend 
services  at  the  different  churches. 

Children  Properly  Cared  For:  Children 
placed  in  our  care  are  given  special  attention.  As 
with  the  other  students  they  are  surrounded  with 
the  most  wholesome  moral  influences.  Regula- 
tions provide  that  they  must  remain  inside  the 
Institute  grounds  except  during  the  proper  hours 
of  the  day,  following  their  regular  work.  It  is  a 
very  frequent  occurrence  to  have  parents  bring 
their  children  with  the  idea  of  remaining  with 
them  during  the  course,  only  to  return  home 
within  a  few  days,  leaving  the  children  with  us, 
having  satisfied  themselves  in  that  short  time  that 
the  children  are  being  just  as  well  cared  for  here 
as  if  they  were  in  their  own  homes. 

Parents  sometimes  remark  that  children  will 
get  homesick  and  want  to  go  home,  but  our 
experience  with  hundreds  of  cases  proves  that  it 
is  usually  the  parent  who  gets  homesick  to  see  the 
child  instead  of  the  child  getting  homesick  to  see 

17 


200  STAMMEBING 

the  parents.  The  home-like  surroundings  of  the 
Institute  and  the  care  and  attention  which  they 
are  given,  allow  small  opportunity  for  children 
to  become  homesick,  especially  when  it  is  remem- 
bered that  they  are  busy  for  the  larger  portion  of 
the  day,  at  work  which  is  to  them  of  absorbing 
interest.  In  fact,  we  often  find  that  children 
make  so  many  good  friends  that  they  are  reluc- 
tant indeed  when  the  time  comes  for  them  to 
return  home.  Many  of  our  students  can  testify 
that  some  of  the  finest  friendships  of  their  lives 
had  their  beginning  here  at  the  Bogue  Institute. 

Care  for  Ladies:  My  lady-assistants,  as  well 
as  Mother  Bogue,  will  see  to  the  comfort  and 
enjoyment  of  lady-pupils.  Ladies  have  their  own 
dormitories  in  a  separate  portion  of  the  building 
and  find  their  stay  a  most  enjoyable  one. 

A  Reflection  of  Ideals:  The  congenial  home- 
life  at  the  Institute,  the  minute  attention  to  the 
wants  of  the  students,  the  care  given  to  women 
and  children,  the  solicitude  for  those  who  are  ill 
or  who  for  any  reason  need  special  attention — 
this  is  but  the  reflection  of  an  ideal — that  ideal  is 
to  make  the  Bogue  Institute,  not  only  in  instruc- 


ITS   CAUSE   AND   CURE  261 

tion  and  results,  but  in  every  way,  just  what  I 
would  have  liked  to  have  been  able  to  find  when 
I  was  searching  for  a  cure  for  stammering, 
more  than  twenty-five  years  ago.  The  com- 
forts, the  conveniences,  the  atmosphere  of  help- 
fulness— these  things  all  contribute  toward  your 
quick  and  certain  success — and  that,  I  may  say, 
is  why  we  have  them. 

THINGS  YOU  WANT  TO  KNOW 

Deposit  Surplus  Money:  As  a  matter  of  con- 
venience to  those  who  bring  with  them  extra 
money,  we  grant  them  the  privilege  of  depositing 
it  in  our  safe.  Other  valuables  may  be  left  for 
safe-keeping  when  desired.  If  the  students 
prefer,  they  may  deposit  money  with  one  of  the 
city  banks.  Pupils  should  not  carry  much  money 
with  them ;  they  may  lose  it. 

Pupils'  Mail:  Relatives,  friends  and  others 
addressing  letters  to  persons  in  attendance  at  this 
Institute  should  address  all  mail  to  students: 
"c/o  BENJ.  N.  BOGUE"  to  avoid  delay  in  de- 
livery. 

Foreign  Students:  It  will  be  necessary  for 
those  who  speak  foreign  languages  to  learn  the 


262  STAMMERING 

English  language  before  they  will  be  admitted  to 
this  Institute.  The  instruction  is  only  given  in 
English,  but  persons  of  all  nationalities  can  be 
cured  if  they  have  the  proper  knowledge  of  the 
English  language.  When  once  cured  in  one 
language,  persons  are  cured  in  all  languages, 
however. 

Companions  for  Pupils:  Parents,  guardians 
or  companions  may  accompany  small  children  or 
others,  when  they  wish  to  do  so.  It  is  entirely 
satisfactory  for  those  accompanying  the  pupil  to 
be  associated  with  the  children  during  treatment. 
They  may  room  together,  if  desired,  or  they  may 
secure  adjoining  rooms. 

When  You  Leave  for  Home:  When  neces- 
sary, we  secure  railroad  tickets  for  our  young 
pupils,  check  their  baggage  and  place  them  safely 
aboard  the  proper  train,  when  they  leave  Indian- 
apolis for  home,  and  otherwise  take  especial  and 
careful  interest  in  having  them  properly  started 
homeward  after  their  stay  with  us. 

Rich  and  Poor  Stand  Equal:  Claim  is  made 
that  this  is  one  of  the  most  commendable  features 


ITS   CAUSE   AND   CUBE  268 

of  the  Institute.  It  is  not  so  in  all  institutes. 
Fine  clothes  and  freedom  with  money  are  not  the 
test  by  which  the  student  secures  his  standing, 
but  by  his  earnest,  faithful  work  and  gentlemanly 
or  lady-like  conduct.  It  is  inward  worth,  not 
outward  adornment  and  display  of  wealth,  that 
wins  friends  and  gives  the  student  a  place  on  our 
roll  of  honor.  The  student  is  judged  by  what  he 
is,  and  not  by  what  he  has. 

Neglected  Education:  No  one  need  hesitate 
to  place  himself  under  our  instruction  on  account 
of  neglected  education  or  advanced  age.  All 
embarrassments  are  carefully  avoided.  Scores  of 
backward  pupils,  who  do  not  even  know  how  to 
read  or  write,  enter  every  year,  and  are  entirely 
and  permanently  cured  by  the  Unit  Method. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

A  HEART-TO-HEART  TALK  WITH  PARENTS 

IF  you  are  the  mother  or  father  of  a  child  who 
stammers,  you  should  first  of  all  read  Chap- 
ters IX  to  XIV,  inclusive,  in  Part  Two  of  this 
book.  These  chapters  deal  with  the  speech  dis- 
orders of  children  from  before  the  first  spoken 
word  up  until  the  age  of  21,  when  structurally  as 
well  as  legally  the  mind  and  body  of  the  infant 
merge  into  that  of  the  adult. 

No  mother  or  father  can  understand  their 
child's  disorder  without  having  read  these  Chap- 
ters. To  fail  to  understand  is  to  multiply  the 
chance  for  error  in  deciding  what  to  do.  There- 
fore, I  repeat,  if  you  are  the  mother  or  father  of 
a  boy  or  girl  who  stammers,  read  chapters  on 
Child  Stammering  before  you  go  further. 


There  are  three  mistaken  beliefs  in  the  minds 
of  many  parents  of  stammering  children  which 
must  be  rooted  out  before  the  child  will  have  &n 
opportunity  to  be  cured  of  his  trouble. 


IT8   CAUSE   AND   CUKE  265 

These  beliefs  axe: 

1 — That  the  child  will  outgrow  his  trouble 
and  therefore  need  only  be  permitted 
to  "grow  older,"  at  which  time  the 
trouble  will  disappear. 

2 — That  the  child  could  stop  stammering  if 
he  would  try — that  the  trouble  is  but  a 
malicious  habit  of  the  child's,  which  he 
could  put  away  from  him  if  he  would. 

3 — That  the  child's  trouble  is  incurable  and 
that  nothing  can  be  done  for  him. 

All  of  these  beliefs  are  entirely  fallacious  and 
based  purely  upon  ignorance  of  the  cause  and 
progress  of  the  child's  trouble.  There  is  not  the 
slightest  scientific  foundation  for  them,  they  are 
not  beliefs  based  on  facts  or  upon  experience — 
yet  in  many  homes,  they  constitute  the  chief 
obstacle  between  the  stammering  child  and  his 
complete  and  permanent  cure. 

As  long  as  you  believe  that  your  child  will  out- 
grow his  or  her  trouble,  you  take  no  steps  to  have 
the  disorder  eradicated. 

What  happens? 

The  trouble  becomes  worse  from  month  to 
month  and  from  year  to  year,  until  in  many  cases 


266  STAMMERING 

where  the  "outgrowing  belief"  persists,  the 
trouble  passes  into  a  chronic  and  incurable  stage 
and  the  stammering  child  becomes  the  stammer- 
ing man  or  woman,  condemned  to  go  through  lif  e 
under  a  handicap  almost  too  great  to  bear. 

Write  it  on  your  heart  that  your  child  will  not 
outgrow  his  trouble.  Ponder  over  the  informa- 
tion given  in  the  Chapters  on  Child  Stammering. 
This  is  not  hearsay  or  guess-work  but  facts 
gleaned  from  a  lifetime  of  experience. 

If  you,  as  the  father  or  mother  of  a  stammer- 
ing child,  cling  to  the  second  belief,  that  your 
child  could  stop  stammering  if  he  would  try,  then 
I  can  see  from  this  distance  that  your  child  has 
stored  up  for  him  in  the  future,  more  than  his  due 
of  misery.  For  as  long  as  you  believe  that  he  can 
stop  of  his  own  free  will,  you  will  be  impatient 
with  him  when  he  stammers.  You  will  scold  him 
and  tell  him  to  "stop  that  kind  of  talking  1"  Thus 
you  will  irritate  him,  and  bring  to  his  heart  that 
sickening  sensation  that  he  is  totally  helpless  in 
the  grip  of  his  speech  disorder  and  yet — "Oh, 
why  will  they  not  understand?" 

Like  the  first  belief,  this  belief  that  the  child 
could  stop  if  he  wanted  to,  is  based  upon  igno- 
rance. No  mother  or  father  who  has  ever  expe- 


ITS   CAUSE   AND   CUEE  267 

rienced  the  sensation  of  fear  that  grips  the  heart 
of  the  stammering  child  when  he  tries  to  speak, 
will  say  that  he  could  stop  if  he  would. 

I  say  to  you — and  I  want  to  emphasize  this — 
that  the  first  and  foremost  ambition  of  your  child 
who  stammers,  is  to  be  free  from  it.  The  greatest 
day  of  his  life  will  be  the  day  when  he  can  talk 
without  that  fear,  without  sticking  and  stumbling 
and  hesitating  over  his  utterances. 

I  say  to  you  again — if  that  boy  or  girl  of  yours 
could  stop  their  stammering,  he  or  she  would  stop 
it  this  very  instant.  They  would  never  stammer 
again — if  they  were  endowed  with  the  power  to 
stop.  But  they  are  not.  That  is  the  very  seed 
of  their  trouble — their  inability  to  control  the 
actions  of  the  vocal  organs  so  as  to  produce 
normal  speech.  They  have  lost  the  control  of 
those  organs  and  they  cannot  of  their  own  voli- 
tion re-establish  that  control. 

The  third  belief,  that  stammering  cannot  be 
cured,  is  so  easily  demolished  that  I  shall  devote 
but  little  time  to  it.  It,  like  all  false  beliefs,  has 
its  foundation  in  ignorance.  The  mother  or 
father  who  knows  the  facts,  knows  also  that  stam- 
mering can  be  cured.  You  may  not  know 
whether  your  boy  or  girl  can  be  cured,  but  you 


268  STAMMERING 

are  offered  a  way  to  find  out — definitely  and 
positively,  by  describing  your  child's  case  on  my 
Diagnosis  Blank  and  returning  it  to  me  for  a 
thorough  Diagnosis. 

Put  your  beliefs  to  one  side — whatever  they 
may  be.  You  can  get  the  facts  if  you  want  them. 
You  can  learn  the  truth  if  you  will.  Truth  is 
better  than  false  beliefs  and  facts  are  better  than 
superstition  or  hearsay,  which  in  every  case  leads 
to  misery,  dejection  and  despair — a  ruined  life 
where  a  successful,  happy  and  contented  life 
might  have  been — except  for  stammering. 

You  have  a  well-defined  responsibility  to  your 
son  or  daughter.  You  have  a  duty  to  perform — 
that  is,  to  equip  that  boy  or  girl  of  yours  to  go 
out  into  the  world  as  well  equipped  as  any  other 
boy  or  girl — and  that  means  equipped  with  per- 
fect speech — without  which  they  will  be  too 
greatly  handicapped  to  fully  succeed. 


CHAPTER  IX 

THE  DANGERS  OF  DELAY 

IN  many  of  the  cases  which  have  come  to  my 
attention  in  the  past  many  years,  the  stam- 
merer or  stutterer  has  been  afflicted  with  a  malady 
more  difficult  to  cure  than  stammering,  viz. :  The 
Habit  of  Procrastination. 

"Oh,  I  will  wait  a  little  while,"  says  the  stam- 
merer. "A  little  while  can't  make  any  differ- 
ence!" And  then  the  little  while  grows  into  a 
big  while  and  the  big  while  grows  into  a  year  and 
the  year  grows  into  a  lifetime  and  he  is  still 
stammering. 

Several  months  ago,  an  old  man,  stooped  in 
stature,  care-worn  of  countenance  and  halting  of 
step,  presented  himself  to  me  for  diagnosis.  His 
face  was  drawn  into  long,  hard  lines.  His  eyes 
shifted  from  side  to  side,  glancing  furtively  here 
and  there. 

In  his  trembling  hands  was  a  worn  old  derby 
which  he  turned  about  nervously  as  he  stood  there 
talking.  The  nervousness,  the  trembling  of  the 
hands,  the  drawn  face,  the  shifting  eyes — all  this 


270  STAMMERING 

was  explained  by  the  story  that  this  man  told  as 
he  sat  there  beside  the  desk. 

"I  fell  from  a  ladder  when  I  was  ten  years 
old,"  he  said.  "After  that,  I  always  stammered. 
My  parents  thought  it  was  a  habit — I  can  remem- 
ber yet  how  my  mother  scolded  me  day  after  day 
and  told  me  to  'quit  talking  that  way.'  But  it 
was  useless  to  tell  me  to  quit.  I  COULDN'T 
quit!  If  I  could  have  done  it,  certainly  I  WOULD, 
for  having  stammered  yourself,  you  know  what  i  t 
means. 

"School  now  began  to  be  a  burden.  I  think  I 
must  have  supplied  fun  for  every  boy  on  the 
school  grounds  during  recess-time,  for  if  there 
was  a  boy  who  didn't  make  fun  of  me  and 
mock  me  and  laugh  at  me,  then  I  don't  know  who 
he  was. 

"Then  one  day  I  started  back  to  school  at 
noontime,  saw  a  crowd  of  boys  on  the  corner  a 
couple  of  blocks  away,  thought  of  what  a  task  it 
would  be  to  go  into  that  crowd  or  try  to  pass  it. 
A  mortal  and  unreasoning  fear  came  over  me. 
Try  as  I  would,  I  couldn't  screw  my  courage  up 
to  the  point  of  going  past  that  crowd.  But  I 
had  small  choice.  It  was  either  go  that  way  or 
stay  out  of  school.  And  stay  out  of  school  I  did. 


ITS   CAUSE   AND   CTTEE  271 

"And  then  came  the  crucial  day.  I  could  not 
ask  my  parents  to  vouch  for  any  absence — I 
dared  not  tell  them  I  was  not  there.  So  I  went 
back  without  an  excuse.  The  teacher  was  angry. 
She  tried  to  get  me  to  talk,  but  I  could  not  say  a 
word.  So  she  sent  me  to  the  principal.  She,  too, 
asked  me  to  explain.  Try  as  I  would,  I  couldn't 
get  the  first  word  out.  Not  a  sound. 

"She,  too,  failed  to  understand.  Result:  I 
was  expelled  from  school — sorry  day — nobody 
seemed  to  understand  my  trouble — nobody 
seemed  to  sympathize  with  me — a  stammerer. 

"Although  I  pretended  to  be  at  school,  before 
the  week  was  out,  my  parents  found  out.  Then 
a  storm  ensued.  I  tried  to  tell  them  the 
truth.  They  wouldn't  listen.  Father  stormed 
and  mother  scolded.  There  seemed  to  be  no  liv- 
ing for  me  there.  So  I  ran  away  from  home — 
ran  away  because  my  parents  wouldn't  listen 
— because  they  wouldn't  try  to  understand. 

"Then  my  troubles  began  in  real  earnest.  I 
won't  worry  you  with  the  details.  I  got  a  job — 
lost  it.  Got  another — lost  that.  How  many 
times  that  story  was  repeated  I  do  not  know. 
And  remember — I  was  but  a  boy !" 

Here  the  old  man  stopped,  his  head  dropped, 

18 


£72  STAMMX1IN6 

his  unkempt  beard  brushed  the  front  of  a  tattered 
shirt,  that  had  seen  its  day.  He  seemed  lost  in 
thought — he  was  living  again  those  days  and 
those  nights  when  he  had  wandered  an  outcast 
from  the  world.  He  was  living  over  a  lifetime 
in  a  moment. 

He  sat  there  several  moments — thoughts  far 
away.  Then  he  raised  his  head  and  there  was  a 
tear  in  the  corner  of  his  eye  as  he  said,  "But  why 
should  I  go  on?  Look  at  me.  See  WHEBE  I 
am.  See  WHAT  I  am.  You  would  think  I  am 
over  70 — I  am  not  yet  50.  But  it  is  too  late  to 
do  any  good.  Here  I  am  homeless,  friendless, 
almost  penniless.  Nobody  cares  what  happens. 
Nobody  would  notice  if  anything  should  happen. 
Nobody  has  a  job  for  me — a  stammerer.  If  I 
could  talk,  I  could  work.  If  I  could  talk — Oh, 
but  why  tell  it  again?  It  is  too  late  now — too 
late  to  do  any  good!!" 

He  was  right.  It  was  too  late.  Too  late, 
indeed. 

This  man  was  one  of  the  Too-Laters — one  of 
the  Put-It-Off  s,  one  of  the  Procrastinators.  His 
might  be  called  the  story  of  the  Man  Who 
Waited. 

First,  his  parents  refused  to  listen.    His  teach- 


ITS   CAUSE   AND   CU1UE  278 

ers,  even,  failed  to  understand  his  trouble.  And 
when  he  got  out  in  the  world  he  put  it  off, 
this  matter  of  being  cured  of  stammering.  He 
Waited!  He  kept  saying  to  himself  that  he 
would  do  it  tomorrow — next  week — next  month. 
And  tomorrow  never  came.  Next  week  and  next 
month  ran  into  next  year — and  next  year  ran 
into  a  case  that  was  hopeless  and  incurable. 

He  Waited!!  How  tragic  those  two  words. 
He  Waited!  And  his  waiting  sounded  the  death- 
knell  of  a  thousand  boyhood  hopes.  He  Waited!! 
And  health  slowly  took  wings  and  flew  away.  HE 
WATTED!!  And  the  insidious  little  Devil-of-Fear 
piece  by  piece  tore  down  his  will-power,  sapped 
his  power-of -concentration.  HE  WAITED!! 
And  that  first  simple  nervous  condition  turned 
into  something  near  akin  to  palsy. 

On  the  tombstone  of  that  man  when  they  lay 
him  under  his  six-f  eet-of-earth,  they  might  truly 
inscribe  the  words:  "A  Failure" — and  should 
they  wish  to  set  down  the  reason,  they  might  add : 
"He  Waited!" 

To  the  stammerer's  question:  "When  should 
I  begin  treatment  for  my  stammering?"  and  "At 
what  stage  will  I  stand  the  best  chance  of  being 
most  quickly  cured?"  there  is  but  one  answer. 


274  STAMMERING 

The  time  for  the  stammerer  or  stutterer  to  begin 
treatment  for  his  malady  is  the  day  he  discovers 
his  stammering  or  stuttering.  The  best  chance 
for  being  quickly  cured  exists  today. 

The  stammerer,  then,  to  paraphrase  Emerson, 
should  "Write  it  on  his  heart  that  TODAY  is 
the  very  best  day  in  the  year."  He  should 
remember  that  indecision,  delay,  uncertainty, 
vacillation,  lead  to  oblivion  and  that  his  only 
redemption  lies  in  that  golden  opportunity 
known  as — TODAY! 


INDEX 


Adenoids,  relaxed  palate  following 

operation  for,  65. 
Adolescence,  dangers  of,  144-148 
Advice  to  Parents,  132,  141,  264 
Anatomy,  author  begins  study  of,  57 
Aphasia, 

Case  of,   113-114 

denned,   67-69 

in  stuttering,  105 
Association  of  Ideas,  122-125 

''Baby  Talk," 

eradication  of,  131 

may  cause  permanent  defect,  131 

Bell,  Dr.  Alexander  Melville,  102 
on  outgrowing  stammering,  102 
successful  mode  of  procedure,  180 
value  of  early  treatment,  143 

Bogue  Test  described,    196,   197 

Brain, 

as  controlling  organ,  74 
impulse    improperly   transmitted, 

77 
typical  case  of  diseased,   169 

Brooding,  mark  of  adolescence,  146 

Carelessness,  cause  of  stammering, 
62. 

Cases,  Typical 

adolescent   girl,    215 
aphasia,    113 
attempted  suicide,   147 
believed  incurable,  181-183 
combined   stammering   and    stut- 
tering, 209 

concealed  symptoms,  198 
disobedient,   172,   173 
dissipatpr,  174,  175 
failure  in  school,  154,  155 
habitual  alcoholic,  221,  222 
imitation,    210,   211 
insanity  following  stuttering,  68 
minister,  223,   224 
multiple  thought,   203 
physical   improvement,    205,    206 
Polish  boy.  212,  214 
prefix  stammerer,  225,  226 
procrastinator,  170,  171,  269 
"seldom  stammerer,"    222,    223 
severe  spasmodic,   204 
singer  who  stammered,  220,  221 
speechless,  206 
synonym  stammerer,  226-228 
thought  lapse,  219,  220 
unconscious    imitation,    216-219 
wrong  methods   failed,    162,    163 


Children,  Defective  Speech  in, 
(See     Speech,     Defective,     in 

Children) 

Children,  Care  of,  259 
Child  Vocabulary,  echo  of  home  vo 

cabulary,    128 

Chorea,  Acute,  as  cause  of  stutter- 
ing,  66 

Combined  Stammering  and  Stutter- 
ing, defined.  71 
Contortions,  Facial, 
in  stuttering,   68 
in  spasmodic  stammering,  70 
Contractions,  Muscular, 
in  author's  case,  28 
in  choreatic  stuttering,  66 
hi  neurotic  lisping,  65 
in  spasmodic  stammering,  70 
in  spastic   speech,    67 
severe  case  of,  95,  96 
Co-ordination, 
defined.  191 
cause  of  lack   of,   79 
lack  of,  cause  of  stammering,  77 
illustration  of  lack  of,  78 
result   of  correct  mental   images, 

122 
Correspondence  Courses, 

(See  Cures,  Mail  Order) 
Cures, 

additional  results,  204 
Alexander  Melville  Bell  on,   180 
author  discovers  successful  meth- 
od of,  58 

author's  experience  with — 
divine  healer,  48 
electrical  treatments,   46 
elocution,  42 
hypnotism,  44 
magnetic  healing,   45 
mail  order,  27,  28 
osteopathy,   48 
physician,  21 
professor,   42 
"rest  cure,"   32 
surgeon,  49 

traveling  medicine  man,   22 
author    successfully     applies     to 

himself,  59 

certainty  of,  236,  237 
division   of   time,   251 
first  step  in,   199,  200 
foundation  of,   199 
home,    suggestions    for,    of    chil 
dren.  132-134 


276 


8TAMMEIING 


Cures — Continued 
incurable  cases,  167 
mail  order,  177-180 
method  at  work,  199 
method  described,  196 
method  three-fold,  192 
not  hopeless,    162,   163 
permanency  of,   192,  239-242 
psychic   benefits   resulting   from. 

206-207 

reason  for  failures,  187 
reasons  for  false  beliefs,  160,  161 
secret  of,  187 

self-cures,  questionable,  164 
successful  procedure.   186 
surgery,  188 

three  units  of  instruction,   200 
wrong  methods  harmful,  84 

Deformity, 

(See  Organic  Defect) 
Delay,  loss  occasioned  by,  272 
Dentition,   Second,   period   of  dan- 
ger.  136 
Despondency,  result  of  stammering, 

114 
Diagnosis,  defined,  181 

first  need  for,   142 

important,   182 

in  written  form,  1.88 

need  for,   198 

what  it  should  show,  184 
Disease,    as   cause   of  stammering, 

88,   89 
Disobedience,    prevents   cure,    171- 

178 
Dissipation, 

aggravant    of    stammering,    174, 
194,    195 

typical  chronic  case,  174,  175 
Divine  Healer,  author's  experience 

with,  48 

Education,  difficult  for  stammering 
child,   128-140 

Electrical  Treatments,  author's  ex- 
perience with,  46 

Elocution, 

author's   experience   with   school 

of,  42 
books  on,   177 

Entrance  Examination,  196 

Exhilaration,      feeling     of,      when 
cared.   230-333 


Facts,  Need  for,  181 
Failures, 

due  to  ignorance,  189 

mail  cures,   179 

reason  for,  187 

Fall,  as  cause  of  stammering,  85-88 
Fear,  child's  feelinc  of,  188 
Feeble  Lip, 

(See  Up) 

Formative  Period,  The,  cause  of 
speech  disorders  arising  in,  182 

Fright,  as  cause  of  stammering, 
83-85 

Gulick,  Luther  M.,  139,  140 

Habit  of  Success, 
Haze-Lip 

(See  Up) 

Health, 

care  of,  268 

Charles  Eingsley  on,  118-119 

effect  of  stammering  on,  117-118 

Healer,  Divine,  author'*  experience 
with.  48 

Healing,  Magnetic,  author's  experi- 
ence with,  45 

Hearing,  Defective,  65 

Heredity, 

as  cause  of  stammering,  88 
influence   on  stammering,   52 

Hesitation,  Defined,  69 

High  Palatal  Area,  65 

Hlrschberg,  Dr.  L.  K.,  on  outgrow 
ing    stammering,    110 

How  We  Learn  to  Talk,  125 

Hypnotism, 

author's  experience  with,  44 
not  used.  199 

Ideas,  association  of,  122-125 
Images,  Mental,  How  acquired,  122 
Imagination,  193 
Imitation,  source  of  word-pictures. 

128 
Improvement, 

conscious  of,  202 

in  physical  condition,   205 
Influence,  value  of  moral,  in  ewe. 

104 


IT8   CAUSE   AND   CUBE 


277 


Injury,    as    causa    of    stammering, 

85-88 
Insanity, 

result  of  stammering,   116. 

result  of  stuttering,   68,   60 
Instruments,  dangerous  in  nse,  180 
Intermittent  Tendency,  The, 

author's  experience  with,  26,  30 

dangerous  aspect,  07 

dangers  of,   101 

period  of  improvement,  07 

period  of  relapse,  BO 

recurrence 

(See  Period  of  Relapse) 

Jaw 

overshot,   65 
undershot,   65 


Kingsley,  Charles, 

effect  of  stammering,   152 
effect  of  stammering    on    health, 
118.   110 

Library,  250 

Lip, 

Hare,   65 

feeble,  65 
Lisping,   65 

negligent,  64 

neurotic,  65 

organic,  65 

Magnetic  Healing,  author's  expe- 
rience with,   45 
Mail  Order  Courses, 

(See  Cures) 
Mail  Order  Cures, 

(See  Cure*) 

Mental  Defectives,  Few,  175 
Mental  Suggestion, 

(See  Hypnotism) 
Milk  Teeth, 

(See  Dentition) 
Mimicry,   MS  cause  of  stammering, 

81 
Mind, 

a  case  of  aphasia,  118-114 

effect  of  stammering  on.  118 
Moral  Influence. 

(Bee  Influence) 


Movements,  Spasmodic, 
abnormal  case,   96 

n  aphasia,   69 

n  author's  case,  28 

n  choreatio    stuttering,    66 

n  neurotic  lisping,  65 
in  spasmodic  stammering,   70 

Nasal  Passages,  Obstructed,  65 

Negligent   Lisping, 
(See  Lisping) 

Nervousness, 

believed    cause    of    stammering, 

187 
effect  of   stammering   on,    158 

Nervous  Shock,   as  cause  of  stam- 
mering,   83-85 

Neurotic  Lisping 
(See  Lisping) 

Newton,  Rev.  David  F.,   on  effects 
of  stammering,  152 

Organic  Defects, 

cause  of  lisping,    65 

cause  of  speech  disorder,  62 

not  cause  of  stammering,  76 

statistics   on,   76 

Organic  Lisping, 

(See  Lisping) 
Osteopathy,      author'*     experience 

with,  48 
Outgrowing  Stammering, 

absurd  conclusion,    100 

chances  for,   during  adolescence, 
149 

chances  for,  in  formative  period, 
184,  185 

chances  for,  in  speech-setting  pe- 
riod, 140 

early  advice  given  to  author,  24 

harmful  advice,   100 

"harmful  doctrine,"   110 

Hirschberg,  Dr.  L.  K.,  on,  110 

origin  of  belief.   111 

physician  on,  141 

reason  for  early  belief  in,   26 

reiwwra  for  failure.  111-112 
of  cases.  100-110 


Palate, 

defective,   6S 
relaxed,   68 

Palsy,  Infantile  Careers!  as  eavse 
at  ar>astie  speech,   67 


278 


STAMMEEING 


Parents,   advice   to,    127,    141,    264 
Peculiarities, 

cause  of,  90 

sing    without    difficulty,    90,    91 

talk  to  animals,  31 

talk  when  alone,  31,  91-94 
Philadephla,     author's     experience 

in,  40 
Physical  Deformity, 

(See  Organic  Defect) 
Physician,  author's  experience  with, 

21 

Pitch,  variations  in,  78 
Plau-of-attack,   199 
Position,  author  seeks  for,  36-38 
Procrastinators, 

example  of,   272 

incurable,   169 

typical  case,   170,   171 
Progress, 

concealed,    103 

daily   record   of,   201 

tests  to  determine,  202 
Progressive  Tendency, 

concealed   progress,    103 

manifested  in  author's  case,    28 

periods  of  transition,  102 

usually  present,  103 
Pronunciation,   Defective,    64 
Purpose,  Unity  of,  256 

Recitations, 

oral    necessary    to    memory,    138 

written    not    equal    to    oral,    138 
Recurrent  Tendency, 

(Sec  Intermittent   Tendency) 
Responsibility,  of  parents  to  child. 

268 
Ridicule, 

author  object   of,   16 

retards  mental  progress,  137,  138 

School, 

author's  experience  in,  16-18 

beginning     of,     for     stammering 
child,    136 

problems  of  stammering  child  in. 
187 

•ending   stammerers  to,    138-140 
Second  Dentition, 

(See  Dentition) 
Sounds,   Substitution  of,  65 
Source  of  First  Word.  126 


Spasmodic  Movement! 
(See  Movements) 

Specialist,  every  teacher  a,  253 

Speech,  Defective,  cause  of,  75 

Speech,  Defective  in  Children, 
"baby  talk,"  eradication  of,  131 
"baby  talk,"  may  cause  perma- 
nent defect,  131 
dangers  of  adolescence,    144-146 
education  a  difficulty,   138-140 
formative  period,   128 
four  periods  of  growth,  120 
pre-speaking  period,  120 
proper  procedure,  266 
speech-setting  period,  136 
suggestions  for  home  treatment. 
132-134 

Speech, 

assistance  needed  by  child,  129- 

131 

denned,  190 

evolution  of,   in  child,   129 
how  first  produced  by  child,  121 
how  produced,  73 
monetary  value  of,   243,   244 
source  of  first  word,   126 

Speech,   Spastic,   67 

Speech,  Stoppage  in,  63 

Speech, 

success-value   of,    244,    245 
true  principles  constant,  40,  189 

Speech  Impediment,  63 

Speech,     Specialist,     should     have 
stammered,    193 

Stammering, 

author's  first  books  on,  11 
author  studies  many  books  on,  57 
bars  education,   154 
basic  causes  of,   80,  81 
causes  failure  in  business,   157 
causes  nervousness,    153 
cause  of  insanity,  116 
defined,   69 

despondency  resulting  from.   114 
disease  as  cause,  88.  89 
effect  on  health,  117,  118 
effect  on  will-power,    116 
elementary,   defined,  70 
elementary  stage,    105 
fall  or  injury  as  cause,   85-87 
fright  or  nerve   shock  as   cause. 

83-85 

heredity  as   cause,    88 
heredity  in   author's  case,    52 
mental  strain  tells,  115 
mimicry,  basic  causes  of.  81,  82 


ITS   CAUSE   AND   CURE 


279 


Stammering — Continued 

Newton,    Rev.    David    F.,    ou   ef- 
fects of.   152 

peculiarities  of, 

(See  Peculiarities) 

primary  mental   stupe,    106 

progress  of,   105,   106 

spasmodic   stage,    106 

stammerer  appears  illiterate,  157 

successive  stages  of,   105 

suicides  resulting  from,  114 

weakening  effects  of,   29 
Stuttering, 

aphasia,   105 

choreatic,    66 

chronic    stage,    104 

definition,  65 

first  a  physical  trouble,   104 

phases  of,  66 

progress  of,   103 

simple,    104 

successive  stages  of,   103 

thought,  defined.  67 

unconscious,   defined,   67 
St.  Vitus  Dance, 

(See  Chorea) 
Substitution,  a  deleterious  practice. 

165.    166 
Suggestion,  Mental, 

(See  Hypnotism) 
Suicides, 

ages  of  most  frequent,   in   stam- 
merers,   114,   115,   146,    147 

result  of  stammering,  114 
Surgeon,   author's  experience  with, 

49 

Surgery,  period  of  popularity,   188 
Synchronization,  result  of,   193 
Synonym  Stammerer,  The,   165 

1  able,   author'!  experience  at,   19 
Teeth,  defective,  65 
Test, 

final  cure,   202 

first  treatment,   202 
Theories,  half-baked  English.   11 


Thought  Lapse, 

(See  Aphasia) 
"Tic  Speech," 

(See  Choreatic  Stuttering) 
Tongue, 

malformation   of,   65 

slitted  for  cure,   188 
Tongue  Tie,   typical  case,   168 
Tonsils,   Removal  of, 

recommended  to  author,   40 

advice  on,   49 
Transition,  Periods  of,  102 
Traveling   Medicine  Man,    author's 

experience   with,    22 
Treatments, 

author's     experience     with    elec- 
trical,  46 

home    suggestions    for,    of    chil- 
dren,  132-134 

Turning  Point  In  Life,  author's,  55 
Typical  Cases, 

(See  Cases,  Typical) 

Visitors,  author's  dread  of,  19 

Vocal  Cords, 

action  of,  73 

how  used  in  speech,  190 

in  production  of  voice,   73 
Voice, 

how  produced,  73 

organs    used    in    producing,    1!)0 

Wilson,  President,  faultless  speak 

er,   129 
Word,  First, 

importance  of,  126 

influence   of  heredity   on,    127 

source  of,  126 

Youth, 

dangers   of   adolescence.   144-146 
period  of  most  frequent  suicide, 

146,  147 
period    of    rapid    progress,    147 

148,    149 


ADVERTISEMENTS 


THE  BOGUE  INSTITUTE 

INDIANAPOLIS,  INDIANA 

N  INSTITUTION  for  the  successful 
treatment  of  stammering,  stutter- 
ing and  kindred  forma  of  defective 
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ordination  of  brain  and  speech.  No  drugs, 
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Institute. 

In  continuous  operation  for  more 
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BENJAMIN   NATHANIEL  BOGUE 

President  and  Principal 


THE  EMANCIPATOR 

Edited  and  Published  by 
Benjamin  Nathaniel  Bogue 


MAGAZINE  devoted  to  the  interests 
of  perfect  speech.  The  only  maga- 
zine for  stammerers  published  in  the 
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ing through  the  pages  of  The  Emancipator  is 
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do  what  you  wish  to  do,  and  accomplish  what 
you  wish  to  accomplish. 

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dissatisfied  with  the  half-life  of  a  stammerer. 
It  has  shown  them  the  beauties  and  the  ad- 
vantages of  the  complete,  successful,  useful, 
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The  whole  purpose  of  The  Emancipator 
might  be  summed  up  in  six  words:  To  better 
yow  condition  in  life. 

Snbfcription,  $1.00  per  year.          Sample  copy,  lOc 


Date  Due 


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B6?5s 
1922 
Bogue,  Benjamin  N 

Stazranering;  its  cause  and  cure. 


MEDICAL  SCIENCES  LIBRARY 

UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA,  IRVINE 

IRVINE,  CALIFORNIA  92664 


